Healing Mountain by STUDIO DUYANG: A Floating Sanctuary Amid Yueyang’s Reeds

Healing Mountain, designed by STUDIO DUYANG, is an immersive architectural installation nestled on Junshan Island in Dongting Lake, Yueyang, China. Completed in 2023, this 220 m² structure serves as a poetic blend of art, architecture, and landscape, offering visitors a serene retreat within a vast reed swamp.

A Site Immersed in Nature

Junshan Island, surrounded by the expansive Dongting Lake, transforms dramatically with the seasons. During the dry months, tidal flats north of the island become a sweeping expanse of reeds stretching thousands of meters to the lake’s edge, creating a natural labyrinth of greenery. Local organizers invited artists to interact with this unique environment, inspiring STUDIO DUYANG to conceive an architectural intervention that harmonizes with the dynamic landscape.

Conceptual Inspiration: Walking Among Reeds

The experience of walking through towering reeds, almost like moving underwater, sparked the vision for Healing Mountain. Sunlight filters through the dense stalks, and the swaying plants evoke both beauty and challenge. This immersive environment prompted questions of human desire and need: what anchors us, where do we seek shelter? From this reflection, the image of a mountain emerged, not just as a form, but as a metaphorical and spatial anchor providing stability and refuge.

The design references the poetic essence of traditional Chinese roof forms, evolving naturally from the act of “shading” into a geometric prototype that defines the mountain’s silhouette.

Structural Innovation: Floating Geometry

The mountain’s floating appearance is achieved through an innovative structural system. The main surface is supported by only three points: diagonal steel columns at either end and a central “cross” column formed from five welded steel tubes. A horizontal steel tube embedded underground connects these supports, ensuring stability and preventing settlement. This minimalist support strategy reinforces the sense of lightness and suspension, allowing the structure to appear as if hovering above the reed-covered terrain.

Material Exploration: Reeds as Architectural Medium

In a first for architectural installations, Healing Mountain employs reed mats as the primary material. These mats preserve the raw, organic form of the reeds while enveloping the industrial steel framework. Each reed is meticulously processed, transforming fragile plant material into a dense, tactile surface that maintains the reeds’ natural morphology. The resulting contrast between wild natural textures and precise structural engineering creates a visually striking tension, emphasizing both fragility and resilience.

Spatial Experience: Open Yet Intimate

Healing Mountain balances openness with introspection. Its large curved forms act as portals to the surrounding environment, inviting wind, rain, sunlight, and wildlife into the installation. The exterior offers open spaces where visitors can sit, lie down, and absorb the panoramic views, while the interior provides quiet, sheltered zones ideal for meditation and solitude. By layering reed-covered ground with a floating steel-supported structure, the installation achieves seamless integration between inner sanctuary and external landscape.

Conclusion: A Poetic Landscape Intervention

Healing Mountain by STUDIO DUYANG exemplifies the intersection of architecture, art, and nature. It transforms a seasonal reed swamp into a contemplative space where visitors can reflect, meditate, and engage with the environment. Through innovative structural design, sustainable material use, and poetic spatial concepts, Healing Mountain invites exploration and introspection in harmony with the natural rhythms of Dongting Lake.