‘Entering the Wood Fire Pond’ is a central installation situated on the riverside terrace of the Yangshuo Sugar House Resort Hotel, created for the 2021 New Year celebration. At the start of the year, this installation ceremoniously bids farewell to the old and welcomes the new through a symbolic burning ritual. The site originally served as the dock where the old sugar factory transported goods and now serves as a scenic window of the Sugar House facing the Li River.
After its burning during the 2021 New Year’s event, the installation was reconstructed and permanently preserved within the Sugar House grounds. It acts as a guiding element, leading visitors from the hotel’s main building toward the Li River bank, precisely where the site’s axis shifts.
The design of ‘Entering the Wood Fire Pond’ is both simple and ingenious. The structure is based on four tilted wooden blocks that interlock and disperse, forming the device’s core. Vertically, the building’s skeleton consists of three stacked sets of these wooden blocks. At the geometric center of the wooden framework, a fire pit hangs suspended on a steel cable, anchored to the ground. Its own weight stabilizes the three wooden block sets, functioning as dampers for the main structure.
Three layers of dark gray hemp cloth act as the “cloaks” of the wooden skeleton, corresponding to the three main structural levels. The top layer resembles a courtyard, forming a “crown” surrounding the wooden fire pit, while the two lower layers mimic traditional roofs. This double-eaved “roof” not only strengthens the installation’s visual stability but also guides visitors into the fire pit space.
The semi-transparent materials allow visitors to subtly observe the multiple levels of the installation, whether underneath the eaves or around its perimeter. While creating sheltered resting spaces beneath the roof, these materials also obscure most of the main structure, preventing a full view of the wooden skeleton from a distance. To fully appreciate the upward-reaching wooden framework, visitors must enter the installation and approach the fire pit directly.
Project Drawings
△ Model Diagram
△ Project Location Map
△ Analysis Chart
△ Elevation Drawing
Top View
Project Information
Architect: Guo Liaohui Studio
Area: 10 square meters
Project Year: 2020
Photographers: Wu Tingting, Li Yinyin
Lead Architect: Guo Liaohui
Design Team: Wang Ziqian
Structural Design: iStructure
Construction: Guilin Mingzhu Exhibition Co., Ltd., Yangshuo Sugar House Engineering Department
Client: AURUA Art and Culture Fund
Location: Yangshuo
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