wutopia lab wraps 'cloudy' bookstore in china with white perforated aluminum panel wall

wutopia lab designed ‘duoyun (partly cloudy) bookstore‘ in huangyan district, china, wrapping a cloister of four different volumes in a continuous white perforated aluminum panel wall. the project emerges as a cloud that slowly rises on the bank of yongning river, while a courtyard acts as the focal point, which connects the scattered masses. the façade generates a cloud of layers, controlling the perforation rate thus hiding the bookstore, while the continuous white creates a serene and pleasant visual subtraction.all images courtesy of creatAR images

wutopia lab has used abstract art language and hidden a series of metaphors in the interior of the bookstore; a cloud rises over the riverside, immersing the readers within. the site of the academy is located in buildings 1 and 3, while the first one is also composed of two structures connected on the first floor as one. furthermore, the architects designed the staircase from the coffee to the second floor as a display for reproductions of rare books. an interior corridor has been added on the west side to building 1 while its first floor takes shape as the bookstore area.

the upstairs of the bookstore takes form as a stepped lecture area, and the second floors are all connected to each other by roof terraces. the courtyard, later named ‘baiyunting’, while its three side gardens — the front, south, and west garden — with the wall, integrate buildings 1 and 3 into a visually continuous complex. the space is full of metaphors and symbols of colorful clouds; wutopia lab distilled the clouds into an easy-to-read formal symbol, turning them into doorways and logos. moreover, different colors identify the various main functional areas; the orange color becomes the main color in the foreground of the entrance book and coffee area. the bookstore area includes the green color in the foreground of the cultural and creative area. crimson was chosen as the red cloud for the speech area on the second floor, and the purple cloud was selected for the exhibition area on the second floor.

an orange pyramid book table becomes the dominant element in the foyer, and a larger green pyramid book table serves as the centerpiece of the shelf area. transparent and translucent interfaces blur the clarity of light, creating a disorienting and curious uncertainty in the space. to increase the confusion of the maze, the architects used corrugated aluminum panels as the ceiling to resemble the rippling water of the yongning river. at the same time, the roof deck of the cashier area was turned into a mirror reflecting the sky.

the studio maintained the original trees and plants, and also kept but modified the fire stairwell and smoke extraction courtyard required by code. the courtyard is enclosed with white perforated aluminum panels, the light can be sifted through the fence and sprinkle the courtyard like rain to form dappled light and shadows, adding vividness to the courtyard. the courtyard does not seek the form of a traditional garden, but conveys the chinese love of creating a vibrant earthly wonderland in the most crowded place in the world, the so-called peach blossom garden. in most parts of white cloud court, the reader is almost completely trapped in a complete dream world.

there is a blue glass house up the spiral staircase of the cafe, and the daylight tints the area where the orange staircase and the roof meet a beautiful purple. as soon as visitors press a switch, the blue glass becomes colorless and transparent, and the yongning river leaps into view. the architects use abstract art language and metaphors to create new art forms and spaces that reflect the local present.

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project info:

name: books in clouds – duoyun bookstore in huangyan

designer: wutopia lab

chief architect: yu ting

design manager: pu shengrui

pre-project architect: wang zhuoer / office ZHU

post-project architect: pu shengrui

design team: begoña masia, song junzhu, wu yaping, wang jiajun, wang lei, dai yunfeng, zhang minmin, guo jianv, wu xiaoyan, chang xue’en, lu ye, zhang wensui, meng dong, jing yawei project architect assistant,

architect in residence: mi kejie 

area: 1726 sqm (18,578.5 sqft)

location: huangyan district, zhejiang, china

design consultant: office ZHU

lighting consultant: chloe zhang, cai mingjie construction plan

deepening team: shanghai c-yuspace design co., ltd., shanghai zhiye architectural design consulting co., ltd.

construction team: taizhou huangyan municipal garden construction development co., ltd., xingwei international home furnishing co., ltd., zhangjiagang yujia metal decoration co.,ltd.

client: taizhou huangyan yongyun cultural development co., ltd., shanghai century cloud culture development co.,ltd

materials: coating, acrylic, perforated aluminum plate, painted aluminum plate, granite, steel grid, gravel, microcement

photography: creatAR images

project video: creatAR images

interview video: wuto-lini

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina petridou | designboom