BIG create innovative waterfront building featuring a ‘pixelated’ roof

Tenderstream member BIG have released images of Jinji Lake Pavilion, marking the completion of the firm’s first project in Suzhou, China. Nestled along the waterfront, the pavilion merges the traditional Chinese courtyard typology with the offerings of a modern public space. Designed in collaboration with Arts Group, the pavilion is one of eleven permanent structures developed as part of the city’s initiative to create a vibrant and welcoming waterfront.

Four distinct buildings are interconnected to create a gathering space around a central courtyard. From here, guests can access a coffee shop, boutique, restaurant and visitor centre, offering a resting point for walkers along the 13-km Jinji Lake trail. Steel and glass facades reflect the surrounding trees and waterfront, visually blending the pavilion with its natural environment. 

The structure’s pixelated roof breaks down the scale of the building, with lifted sections forming double-height entrances that guide visitors into the courtyard. The roof structure features two layers of perforated shading elements – an outer layer integrated into the glass assembly, and an inner layer forming the ceiling. The layers provide glimpses to the sky and allow daylight to come through the perforations, casting patters of light and shadow.

Bjarke Ingels, BIG Founder & Creative Director, states: "The Jinji Lake Pavilion is conceived as a family of public rooms arranged under a single unifying canopy. Evoking the architecture of traditional Chinese teahouses, the glazed ceramic tiled roof is replaced by actual glass tiles, taking the concept of lightness and transparency to another level, and blurring the distinction between indoor and outdoor - garden and architecture. Like a little sister to the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, the Jinji Lake Pavilion seeks to reimagine the future architecture and landscape of the Lake District rooted in the rich heritage of Suzhou's Chinese garden architecture." 

Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research

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