Sanya Jinmao Farm Lab / CLOU Architects

Architects: CLOU Architects
Area: 6,900 m² (total), 4,800 m² (Farm Lab), 4,000 m² (Co-Life Pavilion)
Year: 2021
Photography: Shining Laboratory
Construction Drawings/MEP/Structure: Urban Architecture Design Co., Ltd.
Facade Consultant: China Building Technique Group Co., Ltd.
Interior Design Construction Drawings: G-Aart Design
Lighting Consultant: Fuzhou Bovs Lighting Design Co., Ltd.
Lighting: GOPO Lighting
Furniture: Cross Table Catifa Up by Arper SPA
Chairs: Sylphy by Okamura
Client: Jinmao
Location: Sanya, Hainan Island, China

Sanya Jinmao Farm Lab, designed by CLOU Architects in Sanya, Hainan Island, combines research, exhibition, and public engagement within a 6,900-square-meter complex. Completed in 2021, the project includes the Nanshan Co-Life Pavilion and Nanfan Exhibition Hall, responding to the region’s focus on tropical agriculture and rural development. The architecture incorporates stacked glass volumes, open-air circulation routes, and a timber canopy referencing traditional Li dwellings to address climatic conditions and enhance user interaction. Its program integrates indoor farming, dining spaces, research areas, and civic facilities to support Sanya’s broader ecological and touristic ambitions.

Sanya Farm Lab was entirely driven by function and performance. Sanya’s climate demanded a response to heat, light, and humidity. The double skin was not a stylistic move, but a way to filter sunlight, reduce heat, and create a shaded transitional space between indoors and out. The building appears lightweight, but its logic is rigorous, rooted in performance.
Interview with Sebastian Loaiza of CLOU architects

Located within the Nanfan High-Tech Park, the Sanya Jinmao Farm Lab reframes the role of institutional architecture by emphasizing permeability and programmatic overlap. CLOU Architects designed the complex to dissolve boundaries between scientific practice and everyday experience, fostering informal exchange and shared access across public, research, and commercial users. Outdoor stairways and shaded transitional zones are not only climatic adaptations but also deliberate connectors that encourage spatial continuity. The project avoids hierarchical zoning, favoring layered circulation and mixed-use zones that reflect the hybrid nature of its functions and the region’s ambition to integrate innovation with daily civic life.

The Nanshan Co-Life Pavilion, occupying 4,000 square meters over four levels, combines functional adaptability with spatial experimentation. Three offset glass volumes are stacked to form cantilevers that create shaded terraces and transitional zones along the façade and roofline. These spaces, referred to as “gray areas,” mediate between interior programs and the exterior environment, serving as thermal buffers and gathering spaces. Circulation throughout the building is primarily external. A spiral staircase and amphitheater-style steps link platforms across different levels, reinforcing visual and physical openness. Internally, a staggered void runs through the vertical core, maintaining sightlines between floors and enhancing spatial continuity.

The pavilion is topped with a gridded timber canopy that provides shade and references traditional straw-roofed houses of the Hainan Li minority. This canopy acts both as a climatic device and a cultural gesture, anchoring the contemporary structure in the region’s vernacular context. The interior spaces support a variety of uses, from robotic farming demonstrations and vertical agriculture labs to offices and a farm-to-table restaurant. Furnishings include Cross Table Catifa Up by Arper SPA and Sylphy chairs by Okamura, selected to support the layered uses of the working and public zones. GOPO lighting ensures suitable conditions across research, dining, and display functions.

Adjacent to the pavilion, the Nanfan Exhibition Hall addresses civic needs. Oriented toward Nanfan Park and in alignment with the axis of the Nanfan Museum, the hall accommodates administrative offices and exhibition programs that represent the region’s development goals. A raised second floor preserves the openness of the ground plane, providing public access and visual connection to the landscape. The north-facing entrance establishes a direct relationship with the park and supports continuity between built and open space. While distinct in function, the hall complements the pavilion’s architectural language through its shared emphasis on accessibility and programmatic overlap.

Together, the Nanshan Co-Life Pavilion and Nanfan Exhibition Hall articulate a model of architecture that integrates research, culture, and community engagement. CLOU Architects responded to the unique climatic and social conditions of Hainan Island by creating spaces that are flexible, porous, and contextually rooted. The Sanya Jinmao Farm Lab not only supports scientific advancement but also opens research to public life, forming part of a broader strategy to link ecological innovation with regional identity and civic infrastructure.