studio RE+N turns abandoned planter into floating yellow stage in shanghai neighborhood

"The structure is assembled from eight prefabricated pie-shaped steel panels supported by a single umbrella-like column with variable-section cantilever beams. This configuration lifts the platform above the ground plane, creating the impression of a floating surface while maintaining structural efficiency. The folded steel plate surface rises and dips across the platform, forming a topography that supports a variety of informal uses, including sitting, leaning, stretching, climbing, and reclining."

"Painted in bright yellow, the stage contrasts with the surrounding gray concrete of the existing courtyard. The color establishes a clear visual focus while linking new elements introduced throughout the site, including benches, handrails, and ground markings. The surrounding pavement incorporates a radial pattern that extends outward from the stage, creating simple play grids and visually connecting the platform to adjacent spaces within the courtyard."

"The project responds to spatial conditions typical of many early-2000s residential developments in China, where landscaped areas were designed primarily as static green spaces. In Luoshan Huayuan, the original garden included seating and wisteria trellises but was used mainly by elderly residents and young children, with limited capacity to support changing community needs."

Studio RE+N redesigned a circular planter in Shanghai's Luoshan Huayuan residential community into a 4.5-meter-diameter elevated platform. The structure consists of eight prefabricated pie-shaped steel panels supported by a single umbrella-like column with variable-section cantilever beams, creating a floating appearance. The folded steel surface features variable topography accommodating multiple informal uses including sitting, leaning, stretching, climbing, and reclining across different age groups. Painted bright yellow, the platform contrasts with surrounding gray concrete and establishes visual focus. Radial pavement patterns extend from the stage, creating play grids and connecting the platform to adjacent courtyard spaces. The intervention addresses typical early-2000s Chinese residential developments where landscaped areas functioned as static green spaces with limited community engagement.

Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine