The underground forest of Gubei No. 1 Shanghai

The most literary neighborhood center in all of Shanghai. Even in the most luxurious residential compounds, reading remains an indispensable, heartwarming place, says Yu Ting. Is everyone an island in the metropolis? This project is the final part of the Gubei No.1 community clubhouse, which has already completed other spaces including a gym, yoga room, spa, swimming pool, cafe, and children's play area. However, like all high-end residential compounds, the clubhouse did not generate the chemical interaction of community residents; the reality is that behind luxury, independent families live in isolated solitude. The developer finally decided to build this neighborhood center, hoping residents would get to know each other. But what kind of place would attract residents? A meeting room, reading room, children's library, gallery, audio-visual room? Or simply all of them combined! This expectation of the future and uncertainty in execution gave the architect greater room to explore a more social proposition: within the objective condition that a commercial housing compound is only open internally, how to use architecture as a tool to activate the meaning of a community center and promote neighborly exchange? The project by Wutopia Lab creates an underground forest reading room that serves as a social condenser for the residential community, proving that even a private clubhouse can foster genuine neighborhood connection.