wutopia lab carves soft white caving interiors for pebble-shaped mountain hotel in china

Rock, Cloud Center, stands atop Ancient Spring Town in Tangshan

The Rock, or Cloud Center, by Wutopia Lab, is located at the highest point of the Ancient Spring Town in Zunhua, Tangshan, China. Commissioned by Financial Street (Zunhua) Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., the project includes architecture, interiors, and conceptual landscape design developed by the Shanghai-based practice. Positioned 20 meters above the main hotel entrance, the building serves as a visual marker, a landmark for the area. The Rock houses hospitality amenities, including a swimming pool, gym, and outdoor hot spring pools, and supplies hot spring water to nearby villas. The site’s northern edge, a natural cliff, offers unobstructed views of the Great Wall. This topography informed the decision to create a form inspired by the ‘flying rock’ found in traditional Chinese landscape references. The building projects outward from the cliff, its mass shaped to suggest lightness despite its volume.

all images by Daily Architectural Photography | LIU Guowei

Wutopia Lab reinterprets ‘flying rock’ in Chinese landscapes

For the internal arrangement, the architects at Wutopia Lab follow a ‘caving’ logic, with spaces carved from the form to create a central pool hall and other amenities. A 26-square-meter skylight above the pool introduces daylight, producing shifting light reflections across the interior surfaces. Circulation within the building includes a spiraling rooftop ramp, which extends the architectural form while framing views of the surrounding landscape. The Rock is clad in curved metal panels, shaped into a pebble-like form while reducing the complexity and cost of fabrication. Horizontal lines dominate the facade texture, and angular edges created by two-dimensional panel assembly were incorporated into the overall design language.

The building’s outer shell is an independent cladding system that surrounds a waterproof, insulated core. This separation allowed the ramp to be integrated without impacting interior layouts. Service areas, which occupy over half the building’s total area, are embedded into the mountain to maintain the visual balance between structure and cliff. Given the site’s Grade-8 seismic rating, even small cantilevers presented engineering challenges. Structural reinforcement was integrated into the curtain wall framework to maintain the intended form.

Rock by Wutopia Lab floats above the ancient town

Interiors follow ‘caving’ logic, with continuous curved surfaces

The pool hall’s interior features a continuous soft grey-white surface finish, with curved transitions between walls and ceiling. The neutral palette emphasizes the changing qualities of light and the reflections from the pool. Northern curtain walls and the skylight provide natural illumination, while artificial lighting transforms the space at night. The gym on the upper level overlooks the pool and frames views of the surrounding terrain. Outdoor hot spring pools are screened by vegetation for privacy but maintain long views to the Great Wall.

The elliptical layout of the pool hall required precise coordination of MEP systems. Dehumidification, HVAC, and curtain wall structure were resolved using BIM to address the complex geometry. Waterproofing design was developed through large-scale sectional detailing and on-site coordination during construction. The Rock, or Cloud Center, by Wutopia Lab, combines its functional program with a distinct formal presence in the landscape, integrating structural, material, and technical strategies to respond to its topography and context.

curved metal panels clad the exterior

horizontal lines ripple across the facade

a swimming pool in a sculpted cavern

daylight drips across every curve

spaces seem carved from solid form

a pool carved from the heart of the rock

curved openings pierce the solid white frame

swimming within a quiet carved pebble

morning light melts into the water’s surface

grey-white walls embracing liquid blue

beneath the skylight, water mirrors the sky

daylight dances across soft grey-white surfaces

soft light meets still water

the pool hall beneath a 26-square-meter skylight

a curtain glass window stretches along the pool

large openings allow for views towards the natural surroundings

a landmark carved from the cliff’s edge

views stretching to the Great Wall of China

pebble-shaped shell in shimmering metal

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glass curtain

glass curtain

swimming pool

swimming pool

staircase to the roof

view to the east

light and shadow

lobby

lobby

pantry

gym

view from the town

view from the town

aerial view

building and the town

building and the town

aerial view

outdoor hot spring

first floor plan

second floor plan

third floor plan

project info:

name: Cloud Center, Financial Street Ancient Spring Town
designer: Wutopia Lab

architect: Wutopia Lab | @wutopia.lab

location: Zunhua, Hebei, China

area: 1,690 sqm

lead architect: YU Ting

project architect: Liran SUN

design team: PAN Dali, KUANG Zhou, MU Zhilin, XIONG Jiaxing, ZENG Rui (Intern), ZHANG Naiyue (Intern)

acknowledgment: CHEN Xi

architectural construction drawings: China IPPR International Engineering Co., Ltd.

construction drawing team: WANG Chunyu, LI Shijie, LIU Yao, WANG Yu, WANG Jianning, PAN Xuezhong, WANG Yi, ZHANG Song

interior construction drawings consultant: Shanghai Sunyat Architecture Design Co., Ltd.

landscape design: Ecoland

client: Financial Street (Zunhua) Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.

client management team: WANG Ying (Design Director), GUAN Xueqiang (Project Manager)

general contractor: China State Construction Urban Development Co., Ltd.

structural consultant: AND

structural team: ZHANG Zhun, CAI Yanming

geometry optimization: Sur-Mesure Engineering Studio

lighting consultant: Chloe ZHANG, WEI Shiyu

design advisor: WEI Minfei

photographer: Daily Architectural Photography | LIU Guowei 

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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom