Text description provided by the architects
The Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things. Yin and yang combine and all things are born. Harmonious yet different, different yet balanced—this is the beauty of harmony. Jia Yue: simplicity and prosperity, light and dark, nature and humanity, illusion and reality—all things in harmony, an immersive experience. Nanjing carries the weight of an ancient capital of six dynasties; Nanjing embraces an ethereal quality above nature. The fusion of history and future, the dialogue between culture and nature, reshape a harmonious city of Jin Ji Jia Yue. Zhuangzi said: There is nothing in the world that can compete with the beauty of simplicity. Simplicity is the highest form of aesthetics. Pu means unprocessed nature; su means undyed white silk. The facade uses natural hand-finished East Lake stone and white-silk-like limestone slabs in sequence, creating the supreme simplicity of the great Dao. On one side, the quiet elegance of flowing water; on the other, the nobility of selected Chinese tallow trees. Exquisite purple copper, in a composed tone, opens the noble welcoming ritual of Jia Yue. A long corridor of cultivated bamboo, round moon gates and cloud shadows—the contrast of light and dark connects multiple spaces, forming a dialogue across time. Using walls as screens, screened but not opaque. The natural vitality of tallow trees: tender yellow in early spring, lush in high summer, and in the most beautiful autumn, the diamond-shaped leaves turn crimson and orange. A half-stream peninsula, the stream winding through the woods, the forest atmosphere of private greenery arises naturally. The Cloud Pavilion with its gray tile roof sits within this quiet nature. The Cloud Pavilion embraces a still pool, floating in the ethereal—both virtual and real, both moving and still. One courtyard of blooming beauty, shaped by time. Limestone simplicity and the misty quality of glass blocks, both real and virtual, complement each other. U-shaped glass unfurls like rice paper, with ink-wash and freehand planting that brings the landscape to life.