Text description provided by the architects
Luhu International by Fantasia in Guilin is anchored by a rainbow sculpture that the design team describes as an eternal rainbow. The narrative begins with a small, ordinary moment: walking on the road, looking up at the clouds, seeing a particularly beautiful rainbow that disappears moments later, finding that no one around has noticed. Instead of letting the rainbow remain a passing beauty, the project captures a touchable, permanent rainbow in the lake. Rainbow is the art of light refraction, a dreamlike natural art, and the design brings that rainbow down from the sky into the lakeside landscape, letting the character of mountains and water be re-composed as light and shadow woven through the lake view. The team acknowledges that excessive artificial light extinguishes starlight, so the project gives both rainbow and starlight back, hoping to return the bright, smiling face of the family to the lakeside. After comparing several schemes, the rainbow is fixed as the visual-focus structure: an arch that works both as a framed photo opportunity and as the core visual anchor through its rich colour. The original form was judged too even and a little stiff, so the width of the central half-arch was narrowed by two-thirds, improving the overall effect and comfort. Stainless steel was chosen for its resistance to air, steam, acids and corrosion; stainless sculptures tend to be spare and clear in form, with strong light-and-shadow effects. Perforations for transmitted light and coloured coating compensate for the lack of transparent glow, and the smooth surface and meticulous workmanship deliver a strong, striking visual impact, paired with translucent acrylic to keep the rainbow luminous from every angle.