A Relaxed Space like a Cloud-Cover
Part of Hylla Land Nature and Resort, the Hylla Cloud Nature Experience Center offers coffee, outdoor dining, glamping and wilderness exploration for hotel guests, in a secluded setting. The project is located in a sub-plateau, facing the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and overlooking the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Baisha Twon. It enjoys strong sunshine all year round, although a local saying goes: “cloudy days are the best days in Yunnan.” Indeed, cloud-cover is often the most comfortable condition for human activities in the wilderness. The building concept therefore derives from clouds: a relaxed space for viewing the snow-capped glacier in the shade.
Clouds are always peaceful, with shapes that change with the wind. Likewise, the building responds to the site in such a way that the roof naturally follows the terrain, avoiding plants and rocks and stretching like a cloud. The structural system that supports the cloud is a tribute to the structural principles of Kaare Klint’s Safari Chair (1933), adapted here to correspond to Hylla’s idea of glamping – an “imprecise” system that proactively adapts to the outdoor environment. Twenty-seven thin steel columns of varying heights adjust themselves to the terrain, supporting the waved roof, while a group of stone walls rising from the ground defines several separated yet continuous spaces. The boundaries between architecture and nature, and between the different functional spaces are blurred, so that the meaning of the site becomes a more open “text”, allowing flexibility for the visitors’ individual experiences.
The two main building materials are stone and wood. The walls are made of red stone from nearby Guifeng Village, and the roof is made of wooden rain boards, recycled from old houses in Shangri-la. The architect’s intention is to leave the decoration bare, revealing the original color and texture of the stone and wood. The construction relied on local stonemasons and carpenters to handle the materials in a traditional way, such that hopefully the local spirit will shine through in this new building.
Project: Hylla Cloud Nature Experience Center / Location: No.99, Yanjiao Village, Baisha Town, Yulong County, Lijiang City, Yunnan Province, China / Architect: gad / Project Creator: Yue Cheng / Team Members: Junru Tang, Yiyuan Shi, Jia Ma, Chaohao Lv, Yuting Zhao, Yuqing Ma / Architecture and Interior Decoration Design: Yue Cheng, Junru Tang, Yiyuan Shi, Jia Ma, Chaohao Lv, Yuting Zhao, Yuqing Ma / Structure design: Baozhong Li and Jie Huang / Water Supply and Drainage Design: Yongqing Cheng / HVAC Design: Yuanyuan Fang / Electrical Design: Xiaoyan Pan / Site Construction Team: Fei Yang, Qingxiang Huang, Qiujin Hu, Jialei Wang, Fei Rao, Hou Wang / Construction Team: Jingui Dai, Haibin Liao, Fujun Han, Huan Liu, etc. / Structure Technique: Masonry and Steel Structure / Building Materials: Stone, Recycled Wood, Steel, Glass Brick / Owner: HYLLA Land / Project Type: Hotel/Camp center / Gross floor area: 538㎡ / Design: 2019.8 / Completion: 2020.6 / Photograph: ⓒJie Pan, Tantan Lei, Guangkun Yang, Yue Cheng, Xia Wu, Yiwen Sun, Fei Yang(courtesy of the architect)
