Focusing on the themes of "Future, Fun and Interaction", the project developed by Various Associates adopts architectural forms that are associated with fallen meteorites executed with bamboo fabrics, resulting in warm and enveloping spaces.
“The buildings, resembling ‘fallen meteorites,’ scatter throughout the valley. Their bamboo-woven roofs seem to grow naturally from the pasture hills, casting delicate, shifting shadows and engaging in a visual dialogue with the site’s natural terrain. This is the architectural totem we crafted for LuxeIsland Farm.”
Various Associates.
Seeking an aesthetic that blends tradition with contemporary visual language, the design successfully fuses natural materials such as bamboo, wood, and stone with futuristic building forms that resemble rocks emerging from the earth. Located in a prime spot in Wuhan, LuxeIsland Farm is conceived as an urban utopia that fosters interaction with animals, parent-child education, and a variety of market activities and events.
LuxeIsland Farm by Various Associates. Photograph by SFAP.
Project description by Various Associates
“Welcome to LuxeIsland, Islanders.”
The farm’s circular layout connects animal enclosures, a creative workshop, retail and dining that balances immersive experience with operational efficiency. New structures are embedded into the landscape, creating a continuous visual rhythm across the site. Boulder-like architectural volumes gently emerge from misting systems and native vegetation. Semi-submerged animal enclosures with green roofs reduce the buildings’ visual mass, blending the open farm gently into nature.
The architectural blends natural materials—bamboo, timber, and stone. Bamboo weaving, a cultural symbol, is reinterpreted as a contemporary visual language. Functionally, the farm combines animal interaction, parent-child education, market activities, and events, forming a flexible space that balances aesthetics with functionality.
Scattered Stone-and-Bamboo Structures. A Spatial Narrative Woven into the Landscape
Nestled in the hillside, the animal enclosures are scattered and partially earth-sheltered, blending seamlessly with the terrain. The farm merges with the surrounding landscape, dissolving boundaries between architecture and nature. Each structure is designed to foster encounters — between humans and animals, between people and nature.
The animal zone blends habitat, interaction, and ecological education, with enclosures, resting pavilions, and coffee and donut shops forming a functional cluster. The low-intervention design tucks enclosures beneath the slopes, minimizing their visual presence. The gentle incline allows animals to roam the grass, while the earth-covered shelters provide safety and comfort.
Open paddocks, sand pits, timber frameworks, and shaded structures create diverse environments for alpacas, deer, and other animals. The design balances safety with close, interactive experiences, fostering emotional connections between children and animals.
Creative Workshop. An Open, Unbounded Space for Relaxation and Interaction
The creative workshop is a lightweight bamboo-woven structure, visually light and sustainable. Its woven dome and stone-like columns harmonize with the surrounding plants and animals, creating an immersive, nature-integrated space.
Triangular cut-outs in the bamboo dome scatter dynamic patterns of light and shadow. As a key social hub, this space serves as both a resting stop and a café. The open courtyard extends into the surrounding greenery, cultivating a relaxed, artisanal atmosphere.
The outdoor space functions as both a rest area and an extension for interaction with nature and animals. Large operable facades dissolve the boundary between indoors and out, supporting artisanal craftwork, gatherings, and exhibitions.
Beneath the Descending Silver Disc: Ice Cream, Donuts, and a Taste of Joy
A silver disc gleams under the sunlight, forming a lively hub for cold treats. Its rough-textured facade evokes the tactile and visual memory of mountain rocks. A nearby feed house invites animals to linger, creating gentle moments of connection.
A second dessert station, shaped like a UFO with a cantilevered metallic canopy, exudes a striking sense of futurism. In contrast to the earthy tones elsewhere, its sleek metallic form serves as a visual landmark and directional cue within the site.
Feed Barn and Washroom. Where Function Meets Aesthetics
Grouped as a pair, the feed barn and washroom are topped with bamboo-and-metal roofs that float with sculptural lightness. The functional washroom is crafted with a sculptural language: a stone-and-metal-clad entrance leads into an interior finished with cement-based artisanal coatings and textured tiles, creating a clean and atmosphere.
Forest Star Stage at Twilight. Versatile Spatial Scenarios
Many areas of the farm are designed for flexible use, supporting events and commercial activities. Sawdust-covered ground, hay bale seating, and natural soundscapes create an open-air stage that echoes the free-spirited vibe of the farm. As dusk falls, strings of lights twinkle among the trees turning the space into a theatrical and magnetic gathering place.
Lightness, Iconicity, and a Vision of Future Urban Life
Material selection reflects both ecological sensitivity and expressive intent. Wood, bamboo weaving, and red earth imbue the architectural cluster with a primal natural beauty, while reinforcing its artistic identity and grounding it in local culture.
The LuxeIsland Farm is a spatial experiment in landscape integration, cultural translation, and experiential commerce. Various Associates has shaped not only the architectural forms but also a new vision of public life. It is a farm, but also a futuristic installation gallery, a children’s playground, and an urban micro-vacation retreat for cultural tourism.
Through a reimagining of traditional agrarian culture, Various Associates created a place of wild charm and futuristic vision in the heart of a natural valley—where architecture becomes landscape, and every encounter begins a story.
