The project is located on CPI Island in Luhu Lake, Chengdu — a landmark non-standard commercial cluster transformed from a group of villa showrooms on the eastern side of Luhu Island, within Chengdu’s “Luhu Lake Eco-city.” Among them, Building WX stands out as particularly distinctive, positioned at the edge of CPI on a prominent small peninsula as a newly constructed building.

Precise Control of Environmental Relationships

The design process began with a deep understanding of the site: a raised grassy slope densely populated with trees of various sizes. After carefully measuring the positions and canopy heights of the trees, we analyzed and categorized them, making deliberate decisions about which to preserve and which to remove. In doing so, we effectively “carved out” the building’s footprint and established its height constraints.
Encircled by the lake’s shoreline, the site enjoys panoramic views of the water. To maximize these landscape resources, we rotated the building mass within the site’s limited footprint—aligning its long side parallel to the shore and orienting its short side toward the heart of the lake vista. This approach enhanced and enriched the overall scenic experience.
The raised terrain and low-lying tree canopy naturally limited the building’s height, inspiring our vision of a floating, transparent box—a horizontal viewfinder delicately set within the landscape. The glazed façade blurs the boundary between interior and exterior, while slender steel columns, echoing the scale of surrounding tree trunks, heighten the sensation of being immersed within a grove. Simultaneously, we envisioned the extension of the shaded grassy slope as a semi-outdoor “grey space,” seamlessly integrating nature and architecture.

Sufficient Openness for Commercial Content

From the outset, the building was envisioned as a light dining venue. Functional requirements provided clear spatial guidelines: auxiliary roads and entrances were positioned along the building’s secondary façade, determining the location of the kitchen and allowing for water and electrical reserves; the interior width was planned to accommodate two rows of dining tables, ensuring the necessary seating capacity; setbacks from the main entrance and road were introduced to create a signature display frontage; and the eaves were designed as a lattice-like equipment zone to discreetly house the air conditioning system.
Interestingly, in the later stages of construction, the tenant/operator became involved with new demands. After a subsequent tenant change, the building remained vacant for about half a year. During this period beyond the architect’s control, several of the original design intentions evolved: the under-eave area initially reserved for views was absorbed into the interior, increasing the usable indoor space; new platforms were added under the tree canopy to extend the outdoor dining area; once the menu concept was finalized, the kitchen’s footprint expanded, completely occupying the building’s side wing and altering the relationship between entrance and circulation; and the rooftop equipment zone was relocated to the lakeside elevated structure, thereby achieving a greater interior ceiling height.

In today’s design landscape, the designers of commercial space can include architects, interior designers, operators, advertising agencies, and more. In the case of WX, I, as the architect, undeniably experienced a kind of Ship of Theseus-like self-questioning. I have always believed that in commercial architecture, design serves as a medium for operation — a good space should function as a platform for multi-party collaboration and mutual benefit, capable of evolving over time to meet the demands of a rapidly shifting market. In this sense, deliberately leaving space open-ended for the operator to shape and adapt may also be part of the architect’s responsibility. After all, at its core, commerce is fundamentally about profitability.

Every project presents its own unique set of conditions, and this experience — balancing precise environmental control with sufficient openness for commercial development — has provided us with valuable insights that continue to inform our approach to future non-standard commercial design projects.