Locate in Maoshan Scenic Area, Zhenjiang, Chenzhuang is a small village that has about thirty families. It is surrounded by green mountains, and there is a beautiful pool at the entrance of the village. Following the “Beautiful Countryside Construction” in Jiangsu province, our studio was invited to design a landscape infrastructure that can provide more activity for the villagers. After careful consideration, we decided to design a Light-wood waterside Pavilion that locates between the pool and the forestry.

The pavilion locates on the north side of the pool. We preserved two trees in the site, and the trunks penetrate through the roof of the pavilion. The natural trees and the manmade pavilion lives in harmony. The building space type is “Xuan” which is open on the south side, a little bit closed on the north side.

This “Xuan” type of space is good at having a very clear view direction. So the main view is face to the southern open quiet pool and far beautiful mountains. This kind of space also decided the “L” shape of the main structure of the pavilion. The “V” shape of a column on the south side holds the big cantilever roof. So the pavilion achieved an interesting vision that the south is light and the north is heavy.

We had an innovative design about the “L” shape of the main structural unit. We designed a truss system constructed with 2cm thick light wood, which can be uplifted by two girls. In our opinion, such kind light materials are low-carbon, easy transport, can be prefabricated for the new construction in countryside. This will save lots of construction costs and time. The pavilion is assembled by 16 main “L” shape main structure units and the lateral wood panels.

The lateral wood panels are both structural elements and usable for human activities. The different height sticks were designed to be desks, furniture, bookshelf, rainproof cornice, etc. The roof tile is semi-transparent material which can resist the wind and rain, at the same time also can receive the changing light and shadow cast by nature in four seasons. The light structure and roof made the pavilion looks extreme light and transparent which made it live in harmony with the water, mountain, and the village.