Architecture firm Atelier Deshaus has completed an innovative new structure called the Laoyuting Pavilion, which rises elegantly among the wetlands of a Chinese nature park. Located on the southern edge of the Water-Forest Art Zone, this striking pavilion initially served as the main entrance for visitors attending the 2024 Dianchi Art Season before becoming a permanent landmark for those exploring the wetland area.
The pavilion occupies a unique position within a grove of cypress trees that naturally filter water before it flows into Dianchi Lake. This area attracts local residents who frequently visit to fish for small catches among the tall reeds. Atelier Deshaus designed the structure specifically as a contemplative space where visitors can pause and reflect, creating a thoughtful balance between human movement and the slow, natural processes of the wetland ecosystem.
The architectural design features an artificial forest of slender steel columns that clearly marks the transition zone between urban development and the water-based woodland environment. Above these densely packed vertical elements, a fragmented modular roof system hovers, creating patterns of shade while framing distinctive views of the sky above. The interior design incorporates staggered column placement that naturally creates two subtle pathways, gently guiding visitors toward the deeper, more secluded areas of the park.
While the pavilion's roof structure appears irregular and fragmented when viewed up close, its overall profile deliberately echoes the four-sloped hipped roof forms that are characteristic of traditional Chinese architecture. The design team's strategic fragmentation of the steel roof plates fundamentally changes how visitors perceive the industrial material, giving it a softer, more organic presence that allows the pavilion to integrate seamlessly into its natural surroundings. Sunlight filters through the carefully planned gaps in the roof, creating shifting patterns of light and shadow that produce a quiet, enclosed feeling within the space.
Environmental protection requirements significantly influenced the pavilion's construction and assembly methods. Since the sensitive wetland surface needed to remain completely undisturbed during construction, the foundation system was designed as steel plates placed directly on the ground surface. Each of the ninety-three columns sits on a ten-centimeter steel block that acts as a micro-foundation, effectively lifting the entire structure above the natural terrain while demonstrating the architects' commitment to protecting the delicate ecosystem.
The pavilion's design follows a sophisticated modular logic system, with Atelier Deshaus composing the structure as an array of repeated modules that combine six columns with either flat or sloped steel roof plates. As these modules overlap throughout the design, some columns are strategically removed, shifting structural loads to shorter, thinner elements that rise between the roof plates. This approach creates varying densities of vertical supports and establishes a spatial rhythm that feels carefully calibrated and intentional. In addition to the main columns, an additional network of smaller round steel bars provides support for the upper layers of the complex roof system, giving the entire pavilion a sense of measured lightness.
The architects explored the fundamental relationship between natural trees and architectural columns, allowing the project to echo humanity's earliest forms of shelter while viewing them through a distinctly contemporary lens. This philosophical approach creates a space where visitors can pause comfortably within the filtered light of the fragmented roof while enjoying the ambient sounds of the surrounding wetland. The prefabricated components used throughout the construction process helped minimize disturbance to the sensitive wetland terrain, ensuring that this architectural intervention enhances rather than disrupts the natural environment.
