In a city famous for its rich history of man-made gardens, we can’t help thinking about how far these ancient wonderlands could go to this contemporary world today. Literati and craftsmen did an amazing job building their NATURE out of private territory, why can’t we build ours, from this cold concrete inner box?
Similar to The Lingering Garden, it is centered by a water pond, with waterside pavilions (seating) to its southeast and a tower (inner kitchen) to its northwest, all connected by a series of zigzag verandas (seating). A water path (coffee bar) and a small bridge (cash stand) span across the water, dividing it into three surfaces where the lotus (garden seating) scatters. At the end of the windowed veranda (seating) gathers the piling stones (sales rack), garden plants sit in every pocket left over by the buildings……a virtual Suzhou Garden with contemporary meanings and program emerges, free to be explored.
The material palette is also formalised to reflect the nature of garden essentials: two sets of customised terrazzo, blue base (water) and white base (sand), both contains colorful pebbles, symbolising colourful tree leaves; the coffee bar is made of customised laminated glass, giving a tone of olive shades and sense of pond; piling stone is also not literal — it’s reconstructed and represented by cement board with vertical texture; light penetrates through the roof nets, adding another layer of depth to the space.
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