Natural Flow by LDH Design in Wuhan, China

Project: Natural Flow Architects: LDH Design Location: Wuhan, China Area: 11,840 sq ft Year: 2023 Photography: He Chuan

Natural Flow by LDH Design – Calligraphy and Painting Find Their Place, Begin a Journey to the World of Dangjin

On her silk dress, double butterflies were embroidered. At the banquet of Dangjin, we met for the first time. Her gentle face, slightly dusted with powder, reminded us of a light spring flower, wrapped in the soft scent of spring.

– Song Dynasty, Zhang Xian

The concept of natural cuisine: eating in harmony with the seasons, avoiding out-of-season ingredients. We seek to find the finest ingredients around the world and apply the most authentic culinary methods.

Taste Through Presentation

With a hint of cinnabar leading, like a skirt hem, it slowly moves on the canvas of gray-blue color gracefully, drawing people into its picture. The dynamic geometric facade combining rich crimson represents a unique brand expression. Skillfully designed entrance, long and mysterious corridor, and gradually revealing natural light make one feel as if entering an art gallery. Opening the box of paintings, you are already immersed in the picturesque landscape of Jiangxi (ancient Wuhan).

With its ancient roof style, it radiates an atmosphere of antiquity. Sitting with good friends on the terrace, gazing through clean and transparent large glass windows, it feels like we are in another world beyond time. Here inside this glass window, outside lies modern Wuhan, while within is the picturesque Jiangxi full of history.

With a Cinnabar Brush, the Jade Plate Is Described

The original square layout now offers more opportunities for creative expression. With smooth strokes like a floating dragon and the addition of cinnabar ink, the design process begins with a narrow corridor on the first floor connecting multiple axes that separate areas, arranging tables, bars and tea stations clearly and openly. Inside the space, rectangles or squares fill the area, a grid pattern on the ceiling, rectangles on the facade and mosaic on the floor. Each square concludes an angle of historical Jiangxi landscape.

The unique design of distributed tables creates focal points within the space, providing artistic accents. Large floor-to-ceiling windows allow natural light to penetrate inside like hands opening pages of a work of art, sweeping away dust and revealing the light of past days.

Ascending the stairs paved with gray-blue stones, you enter the second floor. The reception area continues the rectangular design concept, including a clearer arrangement of axes. Corridors separate functional zones, and each private room is independent yet interconnected. A clearly defined linear layout tells the story of Wuhan's life in past and present.

The third floor plan is circular, taking the form of a traditional Chinese garden corridor connecting the central private zone and the terrace via a long corridor. Movement around offers varying views, linking poetic beauty of the river to create a continuous picture.

Green Color Conveys The Essence, So All People in the World Can Appreciate It.

Terms related to China's traditional Five Elements and Five Colors system are frequently found in the "Official Anthology of Tang Poetry," reflecting people's ability during the Tang Dynasty to distinguish various colors and values arising from this. Among these, "青" (qing, blue/green) holds the first place in the Five Elements and Five Colors system. Words related to the blue-green spectrum also frequently appear in the "Complete Anthology of Tang Poetry." Throughout its long history, blue-green color gradually became a symbol used to express various emotions, subjective experiences and inner qualities in the lives of ancient people.

Using simple natural green as a dominant tone, complemented by large patches of red wallpaper, creates an overall atmospheric effect of elegance and rustic eastern charm. At the entrance, green-black marble flooring and red walls create a striking contrast that captivates visitors. These two strongly contrasting colors are openly and unrestrainedly presented, demonstrating grace and magnanimity of all Chinese culture. Entering the hall, an ordered sequence of linguistic forms interprets the destruction and reconstruction of ceremonial and formal design structures: a sequence along an axis → use of vertical cylindrical blocks. By breaking traditional models, a new order is created striving for harmony in spatial diversity. As for lighting, various imperial-style lamps were chosen to harmonize with the ancient charm and elegance of the space.

Ascending the steps to a higher place, you encounter green once again. Inside the warm red aura, a path paved with turquoise stones seems to softly tell stories of the past. Each private room is decorated with stories whispering in your ear — some elegant and refined, others bright and rich, some warm and endearing. In the blue misty rain, this anticipation through a huge window is also a vision of a bright future at the heroic riverbank. The reflection of the river, ending through glass, captures your image. Before a warm wooden wall is a joyful gathering around the table where red fabric wraps your warm feelings.

Moreover, in the silence of late night, under calm lamp light, standing with several friends enjoying tea and wine while gazing at fishing lanterns of the river from a high vantage point, we raise our glasses in honor of the indomitable spirit at the riverbank. Wood, stone, softness and hardness in contrast; metal, fabric, openness and diversity; green and red intersect here, telling human stories and deeds of the world, past and present in Jiangxi.

LDH DESIGN deconstructs the color symbols of Dangjin (crimson and turquoise) to expand cultural continuity and heritage of ancient and modern Wuhan. Through a contemporary design language of "experimentation," it conveys local cultural connotations, redefines brand innovation and explores its vitality. It seeks breakthroughs in traditions and innovations using an inclusive structural language and sustainable, elegant color composition to create vitality of scenes and spatial charm in a local context. In the ever-changing stream between people and people, spaces and scenes, taste receptors and moods, it evokes images and imagination of a new lifestyle and fresh memories.

-Project description and images provided by ZZ Media PR