The Lake House – Life Experience Pavilion, designed by Wutopia Lab at the commission of CSCEC Jiuhe East China Region, officially opened in Daning Park, Shanghai.
The final site chosen was the former water base by the bay. The only restriction from the park was to preserve the structures of two existing buildings and not disturb even a millimeter of surrounding greenery, including two trees abutting the façades. Meanwhile, the client hoped to incorporate ceramic curtain wall panels previously used in residential developments.
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The Lake House – Life Experience Pavilion
Hospitality (Built)
Firm
Wutopia Lab
Architect/Designer
YU Ting
Design Team
Chief Architect: YU Ting; Project Manager: PU Shengrui; Project Architect: Liran SUN; Design Team: HUANG He, PAN Dali, XIONG Jiaxing
Location
Shanghai, China
Country
China
Photographer/Copyright
©LIU Guowei
Website
N/A
Instagram
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Facebook
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Whatsapp
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YU applied his signature “house within a house” design strategy: two buildings were respectively wrapped in a metal and a ceramic skin. In a video call with structural consultant MIAO Binhai, they confirmed the feasibility: the metal shell would act as the climate boundary, while the ceramic skin would serve purely as a visual layer. The existing structure would retain its insulation and waterproofing.
This implemented Wutopia Lab’s core fast-build design strategy:
- Pre-decided Standard Materials – No custom molds required.
- Optimized Workflow – Maximize prefabrication, minimize wet work on site.
- Integrated Systems – Consolidate architecture, structure, interiors, lighting, signage, curation, etc., in the design phase, locking key materials and detailing early.
This dramatically shortened the construction cycle and served as a replicable template for rapid-build architecture.
MIAO Binhai and engineering head Mr. ZHU visited the site. MIAO proposed downsizing beams and columns to 150×150 mm steel profiles. These were integrated with the façade system, allowing the envelope and structure to become one. The combined system incorporated aluminum panels, vertical greenery, sliding glass partitions, light steel studs, and ceramic panels—achieving both formal unity and material coherence. The foundation, particularly on the waterfront and the lower southwest corner, used cantilevered bases to create a raised platform, facilitating rapid assembly.
In an interview, the designer said that Chinese people have a persistent attachment to nature—even when surrounded by concrete and steel. This sensibility makes us treasure even those things others discard. That’s why this pavilion uses ceramic panels, recycled tiles, marine plastic plaster, marine plastic panels, mushroom leather, and light to form an undercurrent—a zero-carbon narrative that lies beyond light and space. It reflects a core cultural belief: to cherish. From this, we move toward zero-carbon living and a beautiful life.
Using horizontal layers of light and shadow, the designer organized the preserved trees, vertical greenery, lobby, exhibition hall, three uniquely themed VIP rooms, willow-lined colonnade, terrace, boardwalk, and café into a linear spatial journey—inhabitable, walkable. The boundaries between inside and out dissolve. Orientation is gently disoriented, not in fear, but in delight. In these fleeting, sacred moments, one suddenly feels the emotional clarity of Chinese culture revealed in the everyday.
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