Architects: Wilburban Architects
Area: 3800 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Guowei Liu, Hanfeng Zou
Lead Architects: Jacky Chan
Design Team: Jacky Chan ,Lin Wangming, Xie Yongbin, Xie Jinping, Lin Jiashan
Landscape: Yuanya Landscape
Collaborative Team: Guangbenhui Lighting Design Co., Ltd.
Client: Chongqing Xiannadu Cultural Development Co., Ltd.
City: Chongqing
Country: China
Xanadu Chongchongshan mountain retreat by Wilburban Architects in Banan, Chongqing, merges steep topography with dense forest to create interconnected public and private spaces. The project arranges four white buildings along the mountaintop and places six treehouses within pines around a central circular plaza. A concave main facade reflects this plaza, anchoring activity. Circulation weaves through a cave entrance, dining hall, suspended stair, spiral tower, and rooftop bridge, offering layered views. A pavilion hidden in the valley completes the ensemble, emphasizing geometric volumes, minimal openings, and integration with nature.
Xanadu Chongchongshan is located 60 kilometers from downtown Chongqing, in Banan, where continuous mountain ridges meet dense forest. The distance between urban and natural conditions feels minimal, producing a close interaction between built form and landscape.
The site occupies a steep mountain peak with only a narrow, gentle path at its highest point. Visitors move along this ridge among tall fir trees that obscure direction and create an enclosed approach sequence.
The main building features a concave spherical façade aligned with a circular plaza in front. This geometry transforms the building into a backdrop for the plaza and establishes a three-dimensional spatial field for public activity.
Circulation integrates interior and exterior routes. Entry begins through a cave-like passage leading into a tall dining hall surrounded by trees. Visitors ascend either via a suspended exterior staircase that rises above the canopy to a rooftop platform or through a spiral tower connected to the same rooftop by a skybridge. These intertwined paths create alternating perspectives and connect forest and built space.
Four white buildings align along the mountaintop contour, and six treehouses are embedded within the pine forest. Their arrangement forms a matrix encircling the plaza, while primitive geometric forms and limited window openings allow large blank walls to reflect shifting tree shadows and merge with the environment.
A pavilion is positioned in the valley on the far side of the ridge. Hidden behind cedar trees, its floating geometric roof appears as a brief white silhouette among branches, blending into the forest background.
The design uses spatial organization and controlled sequences to balance tension and release. Light and air permeate interior spaces, allowing the architecture to integrate seamlessly with its natural surroundings.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Banan District, Chongqing, China
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
This one is really nice.
What about the bell? It’s never mentioned in the text