Dongliang Xuan by Wonder Architects

Located within the ecologically significant Yangtze River Forest Farm in Taicang, Suzhou, Dongliang Xuan by Wonder Architects is a thoughtful architectural intervention that balances strict site constraints with poetic engagement. The project serves as a central hub and a spatial mediator in a rare artificial forest landscape born from a 1974 wetland transformation along the Yangtze River.

Context: An Artificial Forest and Vital Habitat

The Yangtze River Forest Farm originated from the conversion of riparian wetlands into a forested zone, evolving over nearly 50 years into a critical habitat for migratory birds and local wildlife. This isolated green corridor represents a rare ecological asset in the region’s middle and lower river stretches. Since the farm’s development initiative in 2021, the architect was commissioned to create a structure that not only supports visitors but also invites them into a deep sensory and spatial dialogue with this unique landscape.

Design Concept: A Linear Longhouse as Bridge and Frame

Dongliang Xuan takes the form of a long, stilted house, organized into seven structural bays. Supported by robust glulam timber beams and columns, the building extends horizontally along a shallow rectangular pool. The architecture functions simultaneously as a bridge connecting the riverside dock with the forest’s central tree-lined avenue and as a viewing pavilion.

A defining feature of the design is the array of framed openings—windows that segment and frame views of the seemingly repetitive forest scenery. These “visual fragments” interrupt the monotony of the woodland panorama, allowing visitors to engage with the environment through shifting, framed perspectives. The experience becomes dynamic and layered as one moves through and around the pavilion, transforming the journey into a ritualistic passageway and an act of continuous reinterpretation.

Program and Functions

Dongliang Xuan integrates multiple visitor-oriented functions within a single linear volume, including:

• A riverside dock

• A restaurant offering views into the forest

• Public restrooms

• A multipurpose hall for community or educational events

• Storage facilities

This programmatic consolidation respects the natural site constraints while providing essential amenities for visitors.

Construction: Lightweight Prefabrication and Local Timber Wisdom

The building’s structure is composed predominantly of prefabricated glulam timber components, manufactured nearby and assembled on-site using simple machinery and manual labor. This approach exemplifies lightweight construction techniques that minimize environmental impact and enable efficient build processes in rural contexts.

By responding to the unique Jiangnan region’s socio-industrial conditions and its interlaced waterways, the design reflects an intelligent synthesis of traditional timber construction knowledge and contemporary engineered wood technology. This project not only provides a functional and aesthetic landscape pavilion but also signals a new architectural vision for sustainable building in the Jiangnan area.

Conclusion: A New Vision for Forest Architecture

Dongliang Xuan is a poetic architectural gesture that celebrates the evolving interface between nature and culture. As a longhouse and corridor bridge, it reinterprets the rhythms of the Yangtze River Forest Farm into a spatial sequence of framed views and sensory experiences. Its sensitive construction and timber-based design position it as a model for future ecological and community-centered architecture in rural China.

Photography: Yumeng Zhu