Chengdu – The Garden Hotpot restaurant takes advantage of the region’s climate to immerse diners in its verdant landscape.
Architects MUDA built the restaurant to weave its way through a eucalyptus forest in China's Sichuan province. The structure is designed in response to its environment and uses a steel canopy and anti-corrosive wood to blend into the forest, respecting the natural landscape and minimising human intervention.
MUDA also used the project to experiment with small scale, low-cost architecture. Local migrant workers were hired to form the construction team, and while some were lacking professional skills and tools experience, the architects responded by creating simplified architecture guides, allowing all to be part of the build.
As explored in our interview with Snøhetta, which discussed the architects’ plan to open the Svart hotel in the Arctic Circle, architecture should be built in response to its natural environment and climate.