Haikou Xixiu Park Visitor Center by MUDA-Architects: A Futuristic Landmark Rooted in Local Tradition

Nestled within the lush coastal greenery of Haikou, China, the Haikou Xixiu Park Visitor Center by MUDA-Architects redefines the architectural relationship between built form and landscape. Completed in 2023, this 1,996 m² public pavilion emerges as both landmark and landscape, where architecture, culture, and nature converge. Designed to resonate with Hainan Island’s tropical ecology and vernacular traditions, the visitor center serves as a welcoming threshold for thousands of parkgoers—offering spaces for relaxation, exploration, and reflection.

A Floating Pavilion Inspired by Hainan’s Coastal Vernacular

The project's defining feature is its inverted thatched roof form, which reinterprets traditional Hainanese architecture through a bold, contemporary lens. MUDA-Architects have taken the simple pitched roof of local village houses and flipped it upside down, creating a dramatic curvilinear canopy that ripples like waves across the landscape. This sculptural gesture is more than aesthetic: it functions as passive shading, rainwater harvesting, and climatic comfort, thoughtfully responding to Hainan’s tropical sun and monsoon rains.

Set amid native vegetation near the ocean, the architecture mirrors a giant oval pebble, harmonizing with its natural surroundings and evoking the spirit of the island. The building appears to hover lightly over the ground, softening the boundary between structure and setting.

Fluid Form & Transparent Façade

The elliptical layout of the building conforms to the park’s natural contours, preserving the existing greenery while enhancing accessibility. The four-tiered roof drapes gently over the building, its fluid form echoing the movement of water. Beneath this canopy, the façade is composed of ultra-clear low-iron glass, delivering 360-degree panoramic views of the park and maximizing visual transparency.

From a distance, the glass shell makes the structure appear weightless, almost as if it’s floating over the forest. This visual lightness contrasts with the textural richness of the titanium aluminum roof and wood-grained aluminum soffits, which tie the building back to earth and place.

Environmental Integration Through Smart Materials

The structure’s perforated aluminum sunshades wrap the curved façade in varying lengths and rhythms, generating a dynamic wave-like pattern that subtly echoes Haikou’s coastal breeze and tides. These louvers function as solar control devices, allowing light diffusion while protecting interior spaces from glare and overheating. Combined with the deep eaves of the roof, the design significantly reduces energy use and improves indoor comfort.

The architects also integrated white steel columns that pierce both interior and exterior zones, playing a dual role as structural supports and sculptural elements. This rhythmic colonnade provides a visual cadence and spatial orientation for visitors.

Spatial Programming: A Park Within a Pavilion

Inside, the plan is organized as a progressive sequence of public spaces. Upon entering, visitors are welcomed into a bright reception hall framed by natural light streaming through the curving skylines. Beyond this, the space flows into a multipurpose exhibition area and café, both offering views into the central courtyard and landscape beyond.

The second tier houses essential support functions: restrooms, nursery room, medical center, and administrative offices, all seamlessly integrated into the spatial rhythm. The courtyard at the heart of the building acts as a spatial pause—a breathing space that transitions between built volume and open nature, anchoring the architecture in a choreography of light, air, and sound.

Harmony Between Innovation and Tradition

MUDA-Architects’ vision is deeply rooted in local tradition, yet the execution speaks boldly in the language of 21st-century design. From its organic roofline to its responsive building envelope, the project celebrates Hainan’s natural identity while establishing a new architectural symbol for Haikou’s urban fabric.

By embedding sustainable strategies, referencing local wisdom, and embracing sculptural minimalism, the Haikou Xixiu Park Visitor Center serves as a civic and ecological interface—a contemporary space that educates, orients, and connects people to place.

All the photographs are works of Arch-Exist