DREAMING ON THE MOUNTAIN
Shenzhen, China 2021
Collaboration: LLLab
Much more than merely a pair of platforms, the Tanglang Mountain Park should capture the imaginative, creative spirit that is at the core of the city. It can become both a potent new symbol for the region, but also a real place to go to, to heighten the imagination. Future visitors will take the path to the peak not only to look out, but also to lay back and to look up, to look in, to dream. Shenzhen is a city for dreaming. Since the founding of the SEZ, countless people with strong visions of new futures have been making their way to the city in order to realize their dreams, both big and small. Centered between University campuses, creative parks, and Hi-Tech headquarters, Tanglang Mountain is at the very heart of the city’s dreaming, making it the perfect place for such a symbol, and a natural site for spaces that will stimulate the imagination beyond direct lookouts and straightforward pathways.Rather than treat the pavilions as separate landmarks to stand out against the landscape, we prioritize a seemless experience from park entrance to peak, with the two platforms instead serving as the dramatic crescendos of an overall journey. This approach begins with our treatment of the early nodes along the path. No longer isolated dots on a linear map, each node is now formed by playfully widening the path, gently pushing it’s edge into the forest in a variety of ways. In this way each node becomes a unique space tied to it’s specific place on the mountain.The new Daguan Pavilion is a further evolution of this strategy, with the path edge widening to trace the contours of the mountain ridge, forming a series of stepped terraces, each with panoramic views of the city, reflected back to visitors as they climb. The new Jimu Pavilion is also a simple elaboration of this constant path upwards. As visitors approach the mountaintop, the vertical lighting system that has been marking the path edge throughout the climb starts to grow denser and higher. The path itself lifts off the ground, forming a gentle, accessible ramp. As visitors continue their climb, they near the treetops. Their focus shifts back and forth between the undulating path, the forest edge, and the pathways still waiting above them. Around certain bends, the vertical columns lower to reveal stunning views to the city and mountains beyond. Here pavilion and path are one, there is no distinction. There is only the journey up, and the dreams formed along the way.
DREAMING ON THE MOUNTAIN
Shenzhen, China 2021
Collaboration: LLLab
Much more than merely a pair of platforms, the Tanglang Mountain Park should capture the imaginative, creative spirit that is at the core of the city. It can become both a potent new symbol for the region, but also a real place to go to, to heighten the imagination. Future visitors will take the path to the peak not only to look out, but also to lay back and to look up, to look in, to dream. Shenzhen is a city for dreaming. Since the founding of the SEZ, countless people with strong visions of new futures have been making their way to the city in order to realize their dreams, both big and small. Centered between University campuses, creative parks, and Hi-Tech headquarters, Tanglang Mountain is at the very heart of the city’s dreaming, making it the perfect place for such a symbol, and a natural site for spaces that will stimulate the imagination beyond direct lookouts and straightforward pathways.Rather than treat the pavilions as separate landmarks to stand out against the landscape, we prioritize a seemless experience from park entrance to peak, with the two platforms instead serving as the dramatic crescendos of an overall journey. This approach begins with our treatment of the early nodes along the path. No longer isolated dots on a linear map, each node is now formed by playfully widening the path, gently pushing it’s edge into the forest in a variety of ways. In this way each node becomes a unique space tied to it’s specific place on the mountain.The new Daguan Pavilion is a further evolution of this strategy, with the path edge widening to trace the contours of the mountain ridge, forming a series of stepped terraces, each with panoramic views of the city, reflected back to visitors as they climb. The new Jimu Pavilion is also a simple elaboration of this constant path upwards. As visitors approach the mountaintop, the vertical lighting system that has been marking the path edge throughout the climb starts to grow denser and higher. The path itself lifts off the ground, forming a gentle, accessible ramp. As visitors continue their climb, they near the treetops. Their focus shifts back and forth between the undulating path, the forest edge, and the pathways still waiting above them. Around certain bends, the vertical columns lower to reveal stunning views to the city and mountains beyond. Here pavilion and path are one, there is no distinction. There is only the journey up, and the dreams formed along the way.