The Lakes and Mountains is a temporary architectural installation crafted from Chinese bamboo. By leveraging bamboo’s natural properties, the structure achieves a dynamic interplay of tension and support, creating an abstract, multi-dimensional spatial experience.
The project explores the sustainable use of traditional materials in modern contexts, addressing global resource scarcity and construction complexity. The renewable, adaptable nature of bamboo allows for efficient assembly without specialized tools or skills. Furthermore, the bamboo used in the installation can be easily dismantled, reused, or biodegraded, ensuring its sustainability and adaptability for diverse locations. The installation emphasizes site-specific cultural context, using architectural elements to reflect traditional Chinese landscape aesthetics while creating harmony between visitors, space, and environment.
The multi-dimensional bamboo forms create a fluid, transparent interplay of solid and void, inspired by the “Three Distances” technique in Chinese landscape painting, which are the deep distance, high distance, and level distance. It immerses visitors in an experience reminiscent of wandering through natural landscapes, as if journeying through Yue Lu Mountain in Hunan, China. As visitors engage with the space, the unique design elicits a range of emotional responses, fostering a deeper connection between the audience and the work.
The Lakes and Mountains pays tribute to Yue Lu Mountain, the cultural heart of Hunan’s Huxiang culture, while exploring the sustainable use of traditional materials in modern architecture. It blends Chinese poetic aesthetics with innovative design, bridging tradition and modernity.