Flickering Peak
Honorable Mention in Architectural design
Flickering Peak, clad in a semi-transparent white Ferrari membrane, stands on a former coffee plantation developed by returned overseas Chinese from Indonesia. Its dramatic day-and-night visual expressions have made it a distinctive local cultural landmark. Given structural constraints, the project transformed three existing box-like volumes into abstract mountains via a series of setbacks. Circulation weaves through indoor and outdoor spaces, recreating a climbing experience. To compensate for the lack of a sea view, an artificial “sea” was placed before the three peaks, reinterpreting the ancient motif of "one pool and three mountains," which evokes the pursuit of immortality and happiness—paying tribute to the miracles of the overseas Chinese and their hope for a more prosperous future. For visual unity and distinction from the surrounding buildings, the three buildings are wrapped in translucent Ferrari membranes with three distinct perforation rates that increase from bottom to top, forming a visual gradient suggestive of mountain peaks. Under Hainan's intense sun, the flickering effect on the roof gives the building its name. Lighting design further explores the interplay of sanctity and materiality. At dusk, the translucent peak becomes a mountain of lights in varied colors, symbolizing complex desires. Inside the main lobby, highly saturated lighting seems to reveal the space's mutable materiality, yet simultaneously gives birth to an immediate, spontaneous sanctity.
Participant category: Company 11 - 100 employees
Company name: Wutopia Lab
Country: China
Location: Hainan, China
Client: Chia Tai (Hainan) Xinglong Coffee Industry Development Co.,Ltd
Team: Chief Architect: Ting YU; Project Manager: Zhilin MU; Project Architect: Beidi ZHAN, Yuchen GUO, Siqi YANG; Mambrane Structure Concept Design Consultant: Bespoke. Creative Engineering Studio; Lighting Design: Chloe ZHANG
Edition: 2026
Project status: Realised
Website: www.wutopialab.com/