A groundbreaking urban micro-space regeneration project has transformed a neglected pavilion in Hangzhou, China, into an engaging community space that celebrates movement and human interaction. The Wave Pavilion, designed by Moguang Studio, represents an innovative approach to revitalizing overlooked urban fragments through minimal yet impactful architectural interventions.
The project emerged from the Urban Micro-Space Regeneration Plan launched in 2024 by the China Academy of Art's College of Innovative Design and Hangzhou Vanke, leveraging momentum from the Hangzhou Asian Games. This comprehensive initiative focuses on activating forgotten "residual spaces" throughout the city, from lakesides and bridge underpasses to unused office corners, bringing warmth and vitality to daily urban life through strategic micro-interventions.
Located at Hangzhou Vanke Center's central plaza, the original 18-meter-wide pavilion occupied a prominent position but failed to engage users effectively. Despite its central location, the structure felt oversized and impersonal, lacking human-scale design elements that could encourage pause or meaningful interaction. Over time, it had devolved into merely a passageway, while the adjacent shaded slopes naturally evolved into the community's true social heart due to their more intimate and inviting character.
The design team, led by Li Jiaying and Feng Xin from Moguang Studio, faced the challenge of transforming this rigid, solemn structure into a relaxed and engaging space with minimal budget constraints. Drawing inspiration from the surrounding soft landscape, they extended this organic language into the pavilion's interior, introducing a pleated, undulating ground surface that connects organically with the human body.
The innovative folded terrain creates not merely a play installation, but an experiential landscape that fundamentally redefines how people interact with the space. The undulating folds strategically divide the 240-square-meter pavilion into two distinct functional layers: a central area designed for larger gatherings and an outer ring of intimate pockets that invite rest, play, and quiet encounters between community members.
This redefined ground surface functions as an extension of the human body itself, accommodating various postures and activities as visitors can sit, lie, or climb upon its sculptural forms. The design successfully accommodates both solitude and sociality, bringing playfulness and sensory engagement into everyday urban experience while maintaining the pavilion's practical function as a covered public space.
A carefully positioned mirrored ceiling complements the undulating ground below, creating a dialogue between earth, body, and sky through reflected light and shadow. As day transitions to night, the undulating landscape softly mirrors the warm glow of interior lights, merging shadows, people, and nature into a living tableau of urban intimacy that changes throughout the day.
The completed Wave Pavilion, photographed by Qingshan Wu and Kejia Mei, demonstrates how thoughtful architectural intervention can transform underutilized urban infrastructure into vibrant community assets. The project serves as a model for similar micro-regeneration initiatives, proving that significant social impact can be achieved through modest yet carefully considered design interventions that prioritize human experience and community engagement.
