Klein Blue Hills and White Cliff
Wutopia Lab – Chief Architect YU Ting
Location: Pudong, Shanghai, China
Status: Completed

The undulating blue metallic hills – Klein Blue Hills and translucent White Cliff designed by Wutopia Lab in Pudong, Shanghai, China, were completed on October 31, 2023. There is a slender water line between the sky pond of the copper blockhouse and the red brick building. If you go along the water line you can trace its source hidden in the northernmost part of the EKA Park, Klein Blue Hills and White Cliff, renovated from a roof-covered stockyard and a duty room. There are seven locations for the park and their sequential opening would activate the plot of the park. As the park’s focus, there is a thin connecting thread behind the Copper Blockhouse. The Klein Blue Hills the White Cliff, and the Copper Blockhouse are a family, they are two of the seven locations. The plot is conceived through symbols, metaphors, mythology, charms, history, and spontaneous ideas.

The selection structures, materials, site analysis, and historical typologies served as a secondary framework between the plot and the design. We can consider the Klein Blue Hills as Mr. Chen’s wife and my wife, who are suffering from illness. I hope they can live well. Cyan in the east, symbolizes vitality. This is the reason for the use of the color cyan. The “cyan” in lapis lazuli is Klein Blue. Extracting from a Chinese historical type, the roof is designed as an undulating mountain shape, resembling a tent settling on the site. The inspiration for this tent came from the section on “Wheeled tents of the Tartars ” that the architect came across when reconfirming the green mountains in Khanbaliq.

The use of metal allows this soft building to be covered by shiny armor. Special structure and customized curtain wall consultant, arranging aluminium panels in a pattern of fish skin, were used to conform to the undulating shape. When raindrops linger on the misty curtain wall surface, it creates an optical illusion. The Klein Blue Hills was originally supposed to be a restaurant and the White Cliffs was a bar. As the completion approached, they were decided to be vacant for better opportunities.

“Taking this moment as an example, I recall those verses filled with dust”
“I have always felt that the intricate floor designs in landscape architecture are unnecessary and a waste of money. I covered the entire site with red concrete. In this way, there is a complete background for the entire architectural complex. I retained the chimney, designing it as a lighthouse and signpost. Mr. Zhan, the deputy general manager of our client, asked me what I wanted to change inside. I said, “Turn it into a cigar lounge.” Yes, I imagined that I curled up on the sofa inside the chimney, Mr. Zhan and I lighting a cigar with Mr. Zhan, watching the smoke slowly drift towards the well-like sky. Perhaps, at that moment, it’s a most relaxing moment for us busy middle-aged individuals.”

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