MAD architects: huangshan mountain village, china

chinese practice MAD architects has just released plans for the ‘huangshan mountain village’ in the yellow mountains of central china. being a place of natural beauty and its fair share of mystery, the residential complex aims to give the user a quiet peaceful place where they may not only view the landscape but somehow reflect upon it and introspect in the recently declared world heritage site. the complex, a series of stacked planes molded with rounded edges, mirrors the surrounding topography to become an almost indiscernible mesh between the natural and the man-made.

the scheme is conceived as an extension of the natural landscape
image © MAD architects (also main image)

the village will provide private housing with 700 individual units, a hotel and their respective public amenities throughout the many linked structural nodes. each apartment, accessible through a smaller scale public space, is made up of local building materials and contains a balcony overlooking the nearby lake taiping offering a meditative home for the owner. the construct creates its own environment, inviting residents and visitors alike to explore all the views or wander off into the forest on one of the many paths that branch out from the building.

a network of paths connects each of the several nodes of private residences and hotel rooms
image © MAD architects

founder ma yansong describes his approach to the design:
‘the impression we have of taiping lake in huangshan is vague: each visit to this place yields different views, different impressions. a bit mysterious, like ancient landscape paintings, never based on realism but rather, the imagination. this vague feeling is always poetic; it is obscure and indistinct. this is the basic idea; we hope that residents will not just look at the scenery, but see themselves in relation to this environment, attention that is brought inward. in observing oneself  one perhaps begins to notice a different self than the one present in the city.’

image © MAD architects

bridges create lookout points to the nearby lake and mountains
image © MAD architects

meditative spaces offer areas of peace and reflection
image © MAD architects

model
image © MAD architects