The existing flat landscape of the park contains flood-control bunds, fish farms, brick works, local buildings, and forestry. The park is a slither of land between a minor embankment immediately next to the Yangtze River and a major embankment designed for one-in-100-year flood events. Jiangtan Park is an opportunity to start to address some of these significant environmental issues. However, the lake is shrinking partly due to the Three Gorges Dam. The lake is a major habitat for migratory birds including the Siberian Crane. The lake is China’s largest fresh water lake and covers 3,500km2 on average. Poyang Lake drains into the Yangtze River and lies to the southeast of Jiangtan Park. However, ecosystems including wetlands and fish habitats have been drastically affected in the process. In the lower catchment of the river, there is considerable flooding infrastructure with 6,600 kilometres of flood embankments and the Three Gorges Dam, the combination of which has dramatically reduced flooding risk for 80 million people in the surrounding plains. Use and pollution of the river has intensified with China’s rapid development and endemic aquatic species have become extinct in the river including the Yangtze River dolphin. The river has been used for millennia for irrigation, transportation, and sanitation. Beyond landscape conservation strategies already noted, all landscaping was designed without irrigation.Jiangtan Park is located on the banks of the Yangtze River, which is Asia’s longest river. The building uses code exceeding insulation, radiant floor heating, and passive cooling strategies including cross-ventilation, tree shading, and the use of ceiling fans. Overall, the building strikes a dynamic gesture in dialogue with the landscape, touching the land lightly and embracing intimate interiors where the family can convene and enjoy the landscape beyond. The interior’s neutral palette highlights and foregrounds the rich and dynamic coloration of the landscape’s foliage, water, and sky. Exterior materials carry through to the interior at critical transitions, blurring the interior and exterior boundaries. The exterior neutral grey siding, concrete, and steel visually recede into the shaded landscape of textured grey tree trunks and weathered boulders. The material palette of the camp is restrained and muted. Multiple exterior living spaces take advantage of varied conditions and views a roof deck with outdoor fireplace and lake views, a screened porch overlooking the water’s edge, a kids rooftop deck accessed via a suspended steel bridge, as well as other spaces. As one circulates a choreographed experience progressively reveals landscape features and strategic views. The camp is navigated via a circulation network of elevated boardwalks, stairs, decks, and a bridge. A veil of trees screens the bedroom for privacy but sunlight penetrates the foliage of the trees, activating the space with flickering dappled sunlight and cast shadows. For instance, the master bedroom is cantilevered into the tree canopy above the lake, providing a dramatic overlook of the lake. The camp’s private spaces are intimate, and visually quiet, and use strategically placed windows to frame specific site conditions. On approaching the entrance of the house, the building dynamically wraps around the glacial erratic, framing the open family room and creating an aperture with views beyond towards the lake, inviting one into the house. The family room is the nexus of the house and is organized as part of the exterior – with southern panoramic views of the lake. These blocks are arranged to frame and hold the common open space of the family room. The design minimizes impact on the landscape and celebrates the natural site’s character by preserving and weaving through its various features the adjacent shoreline on the south, a monumental glacial erratic boulder to the north, hovering above the forest floor and scattered boulders, and navigating the forest’s hemlock and pine trees.Ĭonceptually, the Elevated Camp house is conceived as an arrangement of private / semi-private spaces grouped as solid blocks. The clients requested that the camp be intimate and private for the family to enjoy one another, but also open to the site to actively engage and enjoy the natural surroundings. The camp is located on the footprint of a prior cabin, allowing the new design to utilize the grandfathered footprint (required by local regulations) and limit the clearing of trees from the site. guest cabin, linked via an elevated boardwalk. The Elevated Camp House is a four-season lakeside retreat for a family of five and is comprised of a 2,733 s.f. Photo credits: Chuck Choi Architectural Photography
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