Wave Pavilion, Urban Micro-Space Regeneration Plan, In 2024, leveraging the Hangzhou Asian Games, the China Academy of Art · College of Innovative Design and Hangzhou Vanke launched the Urban Micro-Space Regeneration Plan, focusing on overlooked “residual spaces” — from lakesides and bridge underpasses to unused office corners. Through micro-interventions, the project seeks to activate these forgotten fragments of the city and bring warmth and vitality to daily urban life.
© Kejia Mei
Invited by Professor Jiang Jun, our team participated in the plan’s second site: the renovation of a pavilion at Hangzhou Vanke Center’s central plaza. Despite its prominent location, the 18-meter-wide pavilion felt oversized and impersonal—lacking a human-scale design that could encourage pause or interaction. Over time, it became a mere passageway, while the adjacent shaded slopes, naturally inviting and intimate, evolved into the true social heart of the community.
© Qingshan Wu
The challenge was how to, with minimal budget, transform this rigid, solemn structure into a relaxed and engaging space. Inspired by the surrounding soft landscape, we extended this language inward—introducing a pleated, undulating ground that connects organically with the body, creating not a play installation but an experiential terrain. The folds divide the pavilion into two layers: a central area for gatherings and an outer ring of intimate pockets that invite rest, play, and quiet encounters.
© Qingshan Wu
This redefined ground surface becomes an extension of the human body—one can sit, lie, or climb upon it. It accommodates solitude and sociality alike, bringing playfulness and sensory engagement into everyday urban experience. The pavilion, reborn as The Wave Pavilion, celebrates movement and perception—a place to rediscover the city through touch and motion.
© Qingshan Wu
A mirrored ceiling complements the ground below, reflecting the shifting light and extending the dialogue between earth, body, and sky. As day turns to night, the undulating landscape softly mirrors the warm glow of interior lights, merging shadows, people, and nature into a living tableau of urban intimacy.
Project Info
Architects: Moguang Studio
Country: China, Hangzhou
Area: 240 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Qingshan Wu, Kejia Mei, Courtesy of Moguang Studio
Design Team: Li Jiaying, Feng Xin
Clients: Vanke Center; Jiang Jun | Institute of Social & Strategic Research, China Academy of Art; Zhang Yan | The Roof Culture & Arts Center
Madeline Brooks is a Projects Editor at Arch2O, where she has been shaping and refining architectural content since March 2024. With over a decade of experience in editorial work, she has curated, revised, and published an array of projects covering architecture, urbanism, and public space design. A graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Madeline brings a strong academic foundation and a discerning editorial eye to each piece she oversees. Since joining Arch2O, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the platform’s editorial direction, with a focus on sustainability, social relevance, and cutting-edge design. Madeline excels at translating complex architectural ideas into clear, engaging stories that resonate with both industry professionals and general readers. She works closely with architects, designers, and global contributors to ensure every project is presented with clarity, depth, and compelling visual narrative. Her editorial leadership continues to elevate Arch2O’s role in global architectural dialogue.