Wuxi Midea · Yunkai East

Midea Yunkai Dongfang in Wuxi is a demonstration landscape by Weimar Left-Right Studio that takes the Chinese garden essay as its compositional theory. Garden-making, the project argues, is above all a matter of composition: conception comes first, architecture opens the way, water is circled, and nature is preserved authentically. Looking at the site, the designers found that water follows the shore, water is divided by dikes, and pavilions and terraces are never isolated; to reach the effortless charm of a natural picture, they broke the rear boundary, set the ground in vertical composition, cut ponds and drew water, and used a covered walkway to split the limited ground into two parts that read as infinitely extended. The overall terrain is raised to form a mountain, and a small garden and a large garden are set against each other: the small garden is sparsely planted for openness, the large garden is filled with cascading water and rockwork, with a terrace placed where borrowed view works best. Density and emptiness are balanced, and the slope is used as a framework for leisurely wandering. Within the walled courtyard, the small garden reflects the large one, so that one can enjoy mountains and waters without leaving the enclosure and feel the forest spring while dwelling in the city. Curves grow from straight lines but are judged by their measure; stepping through, the visitor finds quiet scenery, misty bridges, overhead branches and accepting flowers, with springs to hear and stones to rest on. Sitting in the pavilion, one watches drifting clouds and flowing water, taking breakfast in morning light and evening rest in sunset glow, as if listening to a qin in the landscape of Ni Zan. The concluding principle is that a garden must have scenery, people within the scenery, and a union of person and scene that changes with each visitor. The core landscape covers 3,100 square meters and opened in 2022; the client is Midea Real Estate's Shanghai-Jiangsu-Anhui regional company, and photography is by Muwai Studio.