Verdant Ridges

An I-shaped stage runs among the audience at Verdant Ridges, allowing actors to perform along its length. A column at its centre could not be removed under conservation rules, so Wutopia Lab retained it and clad it in black timber. The small theatre occupies Building No. 5 of a former silk weaving factory in Suzhou, adapted for performances and meetings in 2024.

Outside, green aluminium panels form a series of angular ridges around the old building. Four shades and thicknesses give the peaks depth, with V-shaped pieces resolving their corners. A metal-mesh layer stands in front of the solid panels, and a mountain-shaped opening marks the entrance. The references come from landscape painting and from Tang Bohu, the painter and poet associated with the surrounding historic quarter.

The interior uses black, white and grey against the colours of performers’ costumes. Acoustic panels and textured coatings carry vertical marks derived from ink-painting brushwork. A new mezzanine follows the inclined ground-floor walls, while the original concrete frame remains distinguishable from the additions.

Some seating can be converted to standing space. A ticket office and bar occupy one side of the stage, with dressing rooms on the other and a control room upstairs. The north side is set back beside a neighbouring fire station, leaving a sheltered gathering space under the eaves. An external stair leads to the roof, where a terrace sits between the metal peaks.

Project Information

Firm: Wutopia Lab
Area: 282 m²
Completed: 2024
Type: Cultural, Renovation
Material: Aluminium, Concrete, Metal mesh

The theatre among the rooftops of the old quarter — Credit: Liu Guowei

Corner of the building with green panels and concrete frame — Credit: Liu Guowei

Entrance steps beneath the cut-away mountain — Credit: Liu Guowei

Green panels and weathered concrete beam — Credit: Liu Guowei

Inclined green panels under the old frame — Credit: Liu Guowei

The facade with its central column — Credit: Liu Guowei

Front of the theatre with a tree and rooftop railing — Credit: Liu Guowei

Second-floor terrace among the green peaks — Credit: Liu Guowei

Dark auditorium with inclined walls — Credit: Liu Guowei

Black and grey interior with vertical texture — Credit: Liu Guowei

Lit niche at the end of the dark hall — Credit: Liu Guowei

Inclined wall and column inside the theatre — Credit: Liu Guowei

Mezzanine following the slanted walls — Credit: Liu Guowei

The entrance seen beneath a large tree — Credit: Liu Guowei

Metal mesh mountain seen from above at the entrance — Credit: Liu Guowei

Detail of stacked green aluminium panels — Credit: Liu Guowei

Panels meeting the old concrete wall — Credit: Liu Guowei

Pale and dark green panels in vertical strips — Credit: Liu Guowei

A visitor passing the panelled wall — Credit: Liu Guowei

Leaning green wall beside a concrete column — Credit: Liu Guowei

Covered threshold beneath the eaves — Credit: Liu Guowei

The brush-shaped column beside the green wall — Credit: Liu Guowei

The theatre from across the street — Credit: Liu Guowei

Outside stair with views over the old quarter — Credit: Liu Guowei

Architecture diagram — Credit: Wutopia Lab

Verdant Ridges

Project Information

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