Yujing Hushan

The Yujing Hushan project in Lijia, Yubei District, Chongqing, is developed by CIFI and Huayu Group, with landscape architecture by HWA (Anqidaoer) led by Zhou Ji, Cheng Yahe, Zou Zhangrong, Huang Di, He Dan, Tao Chunya, Huang Dongmei and Zhu Yang. Drawing on the Yuan Ye garden manual's idea that mountain-and-forest sites already possess their own natural interest, the design exploits the project's unusually large super-scale central courtyard, placing the signature landscape elements - a courtyard water feature, a sculptural gallery bridge and a themed children's ground - inside it so that the generous void becomes the emotional connective tissue of the community. At the main entrance, the shape of the forest is drawn from the existing landform, and a cascading stepped water stair uses the natural height difference for an innate ceremonial arrival, as if wading up a mountain stream. The Forest Box is a multi-functional central living room - a sunken, artfully graded terrace, a shaded under-canopy room, an outdoor theatre and a shared civic lounge, ringed by a white elevated boardwalk that gathers functions among the dappled light like a secret box in the woods. The Meteor Playground is the family-children's zone, a mobile castle in the forest with richly layered play that witnesses growth. Around the box, a loop of multi-level spaces - sun lawn, senior citizens' corner, shaded leisure, sports courts and a plant-recognition garden - wraps the programme in natural quality, while the dignified metal entrance facade, translucent screen wall and refined planting of the Cloud-Light garden frame the arrival. The project won first prize, the Grand Excellence Award, in CIFI's 2020 scheme review.