The public space designed by Wutopia Lab studio in Huzhou, China, seems to be part of Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland or a surrealist work of art. White Upland occupies the welcome area of a city sales centre looking like a surrealistic garden. Originating from the provocative idea of architect Yu Ting, promoter of the Manifesto of Anti-generic city, aiming to avoid any standardisation, the project covers the shopping centre facade without altering it.

The new square is inspired by a dream of the architect’s daughter, a forest that the studio recreates through the use of 108 steel columns of three different sizes and the addition of elements that take visitors on a dreamlike journey – caves, hills, rocks, streams and waterfalls combined with the sensoriality of fog, sounds and smells. A bonfire, a red cone obtained from the weave of fluorescent carbon fibre, is a safe and warm place that contrasts the total-white landscape of the forest.

Curvilinear lines intersect generating a closed pavilion in which, thanks to light filtering from outside, the effect of a starry sky is created; covered areas similar to patios and circular platforms with steps alternate in the environment, which appears weightless. 

Hidden in the forest, a square hosts a fountain with 117 water jets and a covered theatre for musical performances. The forest, spread over about 3,300 square metres, aims to slow down visitors’ time by inviting them to reflect and savour every moment.