White Mountain: A Landscape-Inspired Clubhouse

Kris Lin's Innovative Design Merges Natural and Built Environments

The project is located in Xuanwu District, the central city of Nanjing, an area surrounded by mountains and rich natural landscape resources such as Zijin Mountain and Hongshan Forest Zoo. The design team, led by Kris Lin and Anda Yang, took inspiration from these natural elements to create a structure that not only fits into the landscape but also enhances it.

White Mountain is not just a building; it's a fusion of surficial landscape space and underground construction. The use of a new building material, GRC, allowed the team to shape the entire landscape installation and the facade of the building, expressing smooth curves that mimic the natural contours of the surrounding hills. This innovative approach weakens the building’s perception of solidity, allowing it to fully integrate into the urban space and maintain the continuity of the urban landscape.

The clubhouse serves as a hub for community interaction, promoting family relationships and neighbourhood relationships. It is designed to stimulate public energy and serve as a city node. The design also includes underground passages that connect the project base and the surrounding communities, enhancing its accessibility. In the future, an underground station will be constructed in the area, further integrating the clubhouse into the city's transportation network.

Despite facing challenges such as ensuring adequate underground lighting and guiding people from the ground to the underground club space, the design team successfully created a space that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The project started in April 2020 and was completed in August 2020, demonstrating a quick turnaround time for such an innovative design.

For its exceptional design and innovative use of materials, White Mountain was awarded Platinum in A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award in 2021. This prestigious award recognizes world-class, exceptional, and highly innovative designs that showcase unmatched professionalism, genius, and contribute to societal wellbeing. It is a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of Kris Lin and his team.