Beijing and Shanghai-based architecture practice CLOU architects has designed a giant ski resort that features a 500-meter downhill slope with a pixelated multi-media façade in Wuhan, Hubei, China. 

Named Wuhan Ski Resort, the 178,000-square-metre structure comprises a variety of entertainment, sports, and retail facilities for groups around a central lake to form a super-large commercial complex, with architecture and facades in complementary scales of terraced three-dimensional pixels.

Image © Arch Exist

Snow sports have gained popularity among China's younger generations as a recreational pastime thanks to the Beijing Winter Olympics, according to CLOU architects. 

This new kind of entertainment complex with a snow theme was created by the recently completed Wuhan Ski Resort, which combines real sports facilities with hotels, shops, theme parks, and other entertainment amenities. Professional sporting events, ski schools, and clubs are all included.

Image © Arch Exist

Wuhan Ski Resort, which is situated in the Huangpi district next to Mulan Ancient Town, is expected to become the area's new modern landmark. It consists of a large commercial complex that promotes snow sports year-round, with a central lake surrounded by a variety of entertainment, sports, and retail establishments.

Wuhan Ski Resort establishes a new standard for all-inclusive entertainment with its well-balanced mix of outdoor theme park play areas, inside winter activities, and a connecting retail street. 

Image © Arch Exist

A unique super-sized complex where architecture and surfaces blend in complementary scales of terraced three-dimensional pixels, the masterplan combines carnival vibes, indoor and outdoor shopping precincts, watersports, and the abstracted vision of a mountain in an immersive experience. 

The complex is designed as a stage for 24-hour lakeside enjoyment. The framework of an integrative design language unifies three distinct building typologies of contrasting scale, enclosing three distinct leisure experiences.

Image © Arch Exist

Wuhan Ski Resort meets the desire for entertainment in one of China's most populated cities. Its 100-meter-high, half-kilometer-long indoor ski slope establishes a new standard for indoor winter sports. A vast outdoor carnival scene and a range of indoor and outdoor shopping options complement indoor snow fun.

All of the components of a modular facade system include communal elements, which are subsequently decomposed and rearranged to produce identity in new synergies.

Image © Arch Exist

Indoor-Outdoor urban living room

Foothills full of sports and nightlife venues spread towards the waterside, connecting plazas and retail streets with generously landscaped areas and interactive facades, below the half-kilometer long and 100-meter-high indoor ski slope with its pixelated multi-media facade.

Image © Arch Exist

Indoor areas blend into the outdoors, revitalizing retail spaces both inside and outside with landscaping and entertainment options, and connecting to nearby transit hubs.

Image © Arch Exist

Image © Arch Exist

Image © Shrimp Studio

Image © Shrimp Studio

Image © Shrimp Studio

Image © Shrimp Studio

Image © Shrimp Studio

Image © Shrimp Studio

Image © Shrimp Studio

Image © Shrimp Studio

Image © Shrimp Studio

Image © Shrimp Studio

Image © Shrimp Studio

Concept diagram

Concept diagram

Concept massing

Concept diagram

Floor plan

Floor plan

Floor plan

Floor plan

CLOU architects completed a kindergarten with white stacked blocks that features colourful additions in their façades. In addition, architects renovated Beijing's Huijing Twin Towers with a three-dimensional and light-filled city courtyard in Beijing, China.

Project facts

Project name: Wuhan Ski Resort

Architects: CLOU architects

Client: Wuhan Urban Construction Group

Location: Wuhan, Hubei, China

Size: 178,000m2

Design Director: Jan F. Clostermann

Design team: Zhi Zhang, Sebastian Loaiza, Zihao Ding, Liang Hao, Yiqiao Zhao, Christopher Biggin, Principia Wardhani, Artur Nitribitt, Jing Shuang Zhao, Liu Liu, Yinuo Zhou, Yuan Yuan Sun, Haiwei Xie.

Landscape designer: WATERLILY DESIGN STUIDIO

Façade engineer: China Construction Shen Zhen Decoration Co., LTD

Lighting Designer: Zhe Jiang Urban Construction Planning And Design Institute

Construction drawings: CSADI

Top image in the article © Arch Exist.

All images © Arch Exist, Shrimp Studio. 

All drawings © CLOU architects.

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CLOU architects multi-media façade ski resort