Wucheng Town, Jiangxi Province, China
Located in Poyang Lake Nature Reserve on a wetland beside the lake, Wucheng Migrant Bird Town Hotel by CCD (Cheng Chung Design) with OI Architects for Yongxiu Wucheng Migrant Bird Town Investment & Development is a specialty hotel harmonizing man and nature through local materials and craftsmanship.
Wucheng Migrant Birds Town is a tourist attraction enjoying a reputation as a globally-known wetland, a paradise of migrant birds, a millennia-old town, and a desert in water.
It is the world’s largest habitat for migrant birds to spend the winter.
For more than a thousand years, human, birds and nature have been coexisting harmoniously in this unique place.
The architectural cluster captures the aesthetic, dynamic posture of white cranes when landing on Poyang Lake and spreading winds to fly, featuring V-shaped forms.
Scattered along a mountain, the buildings are designed with eaves that show unique forms and textures.
The building complex forms an ecological and cultural habitat that highlights the theme of migrant birds.
The interior design tells the story of “numerous birds flying back to the nest” through artistic expressions.
CCD adopted simplistic lines and bamboo, an element that carries Oriental aesthetics, to create a tranquil, peaceful retreat isolated from the daily hustle and bustle.
Bamboo is chosen as a key design element, as it symbolizes a clear state of mind, and more importantly represents a simple and tolerant temperament.
Based on the principle of sustainability, the design shows respect to local ecosystem and biodiversity.
CCD applied natural materials such as bamboo and stone, in order to minimize waste and the building’s impact on the environment.
In the center of the space, CCD constructed a nest for migrant birds, which forms an enclosure that eliminates the emptiness of the existing space.
Meanwhile, this structure reproduces the relationship between human and nature, and establishes a dialogue between the new and the old.
The dense, slim bamboo poles under the sunlight freely combine to form a bamboo net, filling the space with flexibility and strength.
The large area of blank surfaces creates an open spatial realm and a natural, pure atmosphere.
In this way, the space silently conveys an Oriental-style restrained aesthetic.
The simple design and earthy material textures produce a calming environment that relaxes the body and mind.
The bamboo shadows and the moonlight remove the restlessness of the mind, allowing the guests to gain inner peace.
With a millennia-old history, Wucheng Ancient Town has inherited various local crafts, which possess distinctive cultural and artistic charm.
Through exploring different design approaches and concepts, CCD redesigned local traditional crafts, and brought them new life in the interior space.
Local crafts such as wood and stone carvings, pottery, wooden ware, and objects made of bamboo strips are incorporated into the interior design, revealing understated luxury, harmony, and modernity.
The lush bamboo grove and the swaying reeds interplay with light and shadows.
Strolling along the tranquil path, the guests are able to capture a pleasing faint fragrance of grass and leaves.
The rhythm of the space changes with time and the variation of light.
Embellishments such paintings, moss, crocks and tea utensils, along with the sunshine from the outside, form a poetic scene of daily life.
Nature, light, and the space are intertwined, generating a dreamy, poetic retreat.
Project: Wucheng Migrant Bird Town Hotel
Architect: CCD / Cheng Chung Design
Client: Yongxiu Wucheng Migrant Bird Town Investment & Development
Interior design: CCD / Cheng Chung Design
Architectural Design: OI Architects
Photographers: TOPIA, Qiu Xin
