UFO-shaped ‘woyun platform’ suspends in air for full out-in-nature experience in china

Woyun Platform as a cultural and natural space

Architecture firm Archermit built ‘Woyun Platform’ in China by suspending it in the air, appearing floating and resonating with its intended UFO-shaped construction. The space is a public building integrating cultural and recreational activities with humanities and sciences education. The building has three floors with the ground floor dangling to form a completely open, multifunctional public space. The middle and rooftop act as cultural and leisure hotspots where visitors are afforded the view of nature, from the craggy hills on the horizon to the blanket of clouds in the sky.

Maximizing the space seems to call the attention of the architects when they conceived the plant for the platform. The bottom part slopes like a bowl, but barely touches the ground through the white poles that anchor it. The space allows for recreational programs to be carried out and projector-driven shows can take place as the glossy surface of the architecture doubles as a screen. As seen in the video, the spacious ground doubles as a playground for children and a shelter for everyone when the scorching sun peaks or heavy rain falls. At night, the lighting design of custom-built LED flashes onto the dome-shaped ground floor, forming the imagery of a starry-sky night.

images courtesy of Archermit

Seamless flow of the space with nature

A long, slanted walkway awaits the visitors and also carves ease for those who have wheelchairs or strollers with them. Airy, light, and open: these descriptions are underlined as visitors walk to the second floor where the tall ceiling refrains suffocation and confers a sense of tranquility as the boundaries between the inside and outside are blurred, thanks to the windowless scenery. The furniture that adorns the space has a soft palette to blend well with the white and gentle shades the architects employed for the project, preventing any harsh-looking contrast that may disrupt the serene environment. Inside, exhibitions may take place since the platform doubles as a museum or gallery for displays and shows that touch on humanities and sciences. The use of glasses around the architecture ensures the seamless flow of the lucid atmosphere.

A still pond surrounding woyun platform

The last floor might as well steal the spotlight as the mushroom-shaped roofs cantilever over the visitors, a sanctuary that grants higher visual access to the surroundings. Geometric lines mask the design of the white roofs, creating the illusion of spider webs. At a first glance, the circular platform appears black drawn from the color that cloaks the surface, but as soon as the visitors lock their eyes on the rooftop’s enclosure, they see the stillness of the water that fills the colossal pond around them. Floating stones nestle in the shallow pond to reflect the boulders in the mountains nearby. Archermit shares that Woyun Platform invites visitors to explore their inner yearning to return to nature and tradition. By the looks of it, coupled with the intention to encourage learning through exhibitions and the recreational areas within the architecture, the architects have put forward their purpose.

the roofs resemble mushroom caps