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Architects: Lin Xiaoguang Studio, Mathieu Forest Architecte, Zone of Utopia
- Area: 3688 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Arch-Exist, Li Zhou
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Lead Architects: Qiang Zou, Mathieu Forest, Xiaoguang Lin
Sky mirrors. Two mirrors suspended between the mountain and sky amplify and magnify the landscape: above, the water mirror doubles the sky and creates infinity. Below, the steel mirror reflects the valley and the river below and creates an artificial sky under the sky.
A tribute to nature. The liquor culture experience center of Langjiu is a tribute to nature. It is a game of harmonies and contrasts between the omnipresent nature, the mass of mountains, the vegetation, and the architecture which frames this nature, is anchored in it, and extends it by immaterial and mysterious objects. Located at the top of the mountain, the building is completely buried. It hides underground to keep intact the breathtaking view of the sky and the mountains in the distance. The real sky is reflected in the huge water mirror that juts out into the void. Below, floating on a mysterious archaeology, the ceiling reflects artificial constellations created by the suspended lamps which at night are superimposed on the stars in the reflections of the facades.
A Journey. Walking towards the interior of the site, one discovers a water mirror 50 meters wide, which amplifies by doubling the view of the landscape and extends the sky to infinity. From this point of view, we do not yet perceive the interior life of the building nor the view of the valley. We only see the landscape, its reflection, and between the two, the surreal image of a mirror volume suspended in the void. Then we sink gently below ground level, taking a curved ramp framed by concrete walls in hues evocative of rock and historic caves that store alcohol.
Are these walls the traces of ancient archaeology? The view of the landscape is kept at a distance, the visitor is led naturally toward the interior spaces, in stages. He discovers fragments of the landscape but he does not immediately perceive it in its totality. It slips under the water mirror which is also a mirror below. The immateriality of the mirror contrasts with the thickness of the walls anchored in the rock. The back of the water mirror also gives the illusion of being underwater. This large mirrored ceiling is actually a large artificial sky. It reflects the hanging lamps and creates a punctuation of stars. The first tasting room gives a view of the mountain cleared of all human intervention and presence. The bottles are staged along a huge showcase like a scholarly library.
A treasure. A little further on, an intimate room preserves the most precious bottles. Finally, we enter the large tasting room and discover through a one-piece window, without joinery, the breathtaking view of the valley. The mirror ceiling magnifies the view of the valley, in the same way as the water mirror magnified the view of the sky. At night, the multitude of lit lamps and their reflections in the ceiling create a starry sky, this artificial sky is in turn reflected in the glazing of the facades.
The real sky merges with that created by architecture. Illusion game. Twelve tables welcome visitors to the tasting. Each table evokes an astral theme and its constellation. Weightlessness. The visit continues with the ascent of an unexpected staircase that soars toward the sky. Arriving at the top of this staircase, we walk on a footbridge suspended in the void. This belvedere gives a view of the landscape in all its directions and a feeling of intoxication in the face of the immensity of the landscape and the audacity of the men.
