Jiunvfeng Bubble Pool and Supporting Facilities on Mount Tai | line+ studio

In the design concept, Jiunvfeng Bubble Pool is a strategic response to nature, and it is the “acupoint” for the rebirth of the whole declining village. The primitive poverty-stricken village to be renewed and the world-class magnificent scenery, the pool is located between the two, with its pure, transparent, flowing sense that balance the two kinds of temperament.

Jiunvfeng Bubble Pool is a pure white brush stroke in the village at hillside. It is a response to the mountain forest and the magnificent sky. Dialoguing with the lingering twists and turns of the natural veins of Mount Tai, it resembles a precious shells lost in the clouds of paving-stones.

The location selection and function placement were inspired by geographical conditions and spatial demands. Walk to the entrance of the village, pass through the guest rooms scattered along the mountain, and climb up the steps along the path made of original stone in the mountains. The pure white pool appears in the forest vegetation. The function placement of the Bubble Pool is derived from the hydrophilicity of people and the healthy and energetic life attitude of urban people. It forms a complete streamline and function linkage with the guestrooms at the foot of the mountain and the Study on the mountain.

The functional zoning of Jiunvfeng Bubble Pool is a specific response to the rural settlement and mountain environment. It is divided into three zones: changing room, sea bath and fitness, thus forming three volumes: 

The west side is a semi outdoor sea bath area. In order to ensure the flow and permeability of the Bubble Pool’s architectural form, the column-free, unobstructed and pure space is of utmost importance – a pure white roof rising from the ground with a stretching shape and a 10-meterg overhung roof protruding towards the mountains, sheltering the Bubble Pool. While creating its “growth” posture, the guests in the pool can enjoy the natural landscape directly. 

The east side is the interior part, which is convolution and restraining in shape. The small arc shape comprises functions such as reception, changing room, bathing, small sauna room, etc.

The south side is the gymnasium, facing the village and the foot of the mountain. The neat aperture of the “Shell” indicates the entrance. The building orientation continues the natural trend of the mountain village that built along the mountain.

The changing room and the sea bath area are connected by an arc shape, facing the mountains and ridges in the northeast, so as to capture the mountain scenery while achieving the space requirement for privacy. Looking distantly, Jiunvfeng Bubble Pool is like a cherished shell lost in the sea of clouds on Mount Tai. The three enclosed spaces are naturally generated to accommodate the original landscape, conform to the context of the mountain, and establish a balanced connection between nature and the village.

Weakness of Volume

The Bubble Pool intends to create a weakened sense of building volume in the vast mountains.

The white special-shaped curved surface forms a free space opening, combined with the large-area transparent facade, and the environmental restoration and landscape transformation of the surrounding mountains, blurring the boundary of inside and outside.

Internally, it creates a sense of scale of a person, and the space defined by the cantilevered curved roof gives the experience a sense of security and comfort; externally, it is a kind of introversion in the face of vastness, and the weakening of the volume to interpret the subordination relationship between architecture and nature.

The fitness, changing room and sea bath areas adopt three different facade forms. From the perspective of function, the three forms of “virtual”, “real” and “formless” are used to interpret the transparency that the design wants to express:

 [Virtual]

The gym opens to the south. The opening surface is separated by hidden columns and connected to the glass wall. The “virtual” facade captures the scenery of the village, introduces daylight, and defines the thermal insulation indoor fitness area.

[Real]

The changing room has the high requirement of privacy. The metal mirror facade material with high reflection characteristics is used. The flowing outdoor scene is mapped to the building exterior wall to ensure the “realness” of the internal space and let the building volume “disappear” in nature, presenting a kind of reverse ultimate transparency.

[Formless]

The sea bath area is a hollow opening without columns and walls, facing the mountains and forests, which achieves a true zero-distance contact with the nature. The cantilevered roof defines the use space. In the sea bath, the free curve of the white roof in view echoes the contours of the distant mountains, and the native scenery is framed in the pool.