Shunde Yunlu Wetland Museum Stands as a Quiet Tower in an Unexpected Location

Photo credit: Studio Link-Arc | Tian Fangfang
Deep within Yunlu Wetland Park in Shundes, south China, there’s a building that blends in with the trees and water, making it difficult to see from a distance, despite being right across from an island where thousands of egrets have made their home. Studio Link-Arc completed this museum a year ago, resulting in a space that serves as both a learning center for all things wetland as well as a great place to observe local wildlife.

The story began decades ago with a local folk hero known as “Uncle Bird,” who wanted to create a bamboo forest that attracted wading birds to the area. Authorities eventually intervened, preserved the site, and extended it to make it a true wetland park. They restored the water flows and planted a lot more bamboo to support an incredible 25,000 egrets.

So the architects faced an obvious challenge: build a museum that not only blends in but does not disrupt the habitat it cherishes. To prevent damaging the ecosystem, they focused on keeping things basic and tiny, with a footprint of only 1,800 square meters. They even went to the trouble of inspecting hundreds of trees to determine where they might avoid cutting them down. As a bonus, elevated sections of the structure allowed water to flow beneath. To top it off, the entire structure is hidden behind a row of tall cedars. A set of four concrete tubes stack directly on top of one another, each slightly twisted from the one beneath.

The lower portions of these tubes are firmly entrenched in the ground, pointing towards the tree trunks and roots, whilst the upper levels are all about the branches and sky. The wide windows that bookend these tubes serve as a frame, directing your sight to certain areas of the countryside, from creepy crawlers on the ground to birds in the sky. The tube ends are made of cast-in-place concrete, which is elegantly textured to capture the changing light, while the interior is kept quiet and low-key with a neutral color palette. In the midst of it all, an angular atrium cuts through, connecting all of the floors with a staircase that arcs around it.

Natural light filters in from above through a number of skylights, allowing you to see the changing weather and seasons without having to turn on the strong artificial lighting. As you progress up the building, your perspective gradually shifts with each successive floor. Egrets may be feeding near the water on one floor, yet breeding up in the trees on another. And, with the open sightlines across the atrium, you get a glimpse into the other tubes, giving you a better knowledge of your surroundings with each stride.

Up on the roof, shallow ponds are home to an impressive display of lotus blossoms, adding another layer of water to the marshes below and softening the view from above. In the exhibition spaces, they are emphasizing the local ecology by employing the building itself as a display case. Instead of traditional artifact walls, they have windows that exhibit live scenes of birds and flora in a constantly changing presentation.

The engineers working on this project in soft wetland soil had to utilize a variety of box-like supports in each tube to keep things steady when sections of the building cantilevered out. Every decision was about maintaining a low profile and avoiding any strong remarks. And when viewed from the egret island, the museum blends into the foliage, allowing nature to grow unaffected. Walking through the building is similar to climbing a forest tower, with delicate small openings that reveal more and more intricacies as you go higher. The sounds of birds within and the changing light dancing across the concrete surfaces as the clouds pass by provide for a very immersive experience.
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