Wutopia Lab forms a residential gateway inspired by whales
Whale Gate is the entrance structure designed by Wutopia Lab for Golden Island, a residential developed by Jinsha Group in Shangqiu, Henan, China. Set within a landscape of water and trees, the gate appears as a blue biomorphic form emerging from the garden rather than a conventional residential entrance. The project responds to the client’s ambition to create a sense of transition between everyday urban life and the domestic environment. The residential masterplan is organized as an archipelago-like composition in which the buildings are dispersed within a landscape of water and vegetation. Drawing from this backdrop, architect Yu Ting referred to images of mythical islands found in Chinese cultural narratives, isolated places imagined beyond the boundaries of ordinary reality. The gate translates this idea into an architectural threshold that marks the passage into the residential community. The central element of the work is the abstract form of a whale. In marine myths and legends, whales often occupy a place between the known and the unknown world. Wutopia Lab reinterprets this symbolism through architecture, turning the act of returning home into a passage through the “eye” of the whale.
Rather than producing a literal representation, the drawing reduces the whale to a series of recognizable formal gestures. A vertical golden opening cuts through the blue volume to create the main entrance, while perforated white aluminum The panels placed above cause a spray of water and act as a dome at the same time. The project embraces symbolic expression as a design strategy, using form and narrative as integral architectural elements rather than hiding them behind purely technical or parametric solutions. Above the gate is an observation platform accessible exclusively to residents and access is via a series of golden steps. From this elevated point, the view extends across the residential landscape of water, trees and surrounding buildings. The platform reinforces the role of the gateway as a transitional device between the city and the more sheltered environment of the residential complex.
all images from Daily Architectural Photography | LIU Guowei
Double Curve Aluminum Skin Wraps Whale Gate
Structurally, the Whale Gate consists of a six-layer assembly consisting of a steel primary frame, tie rods, an aluminum substructure, waterproofing layers, double-curved composite aluminum honeycomb panels and fin-shaped profiles. The complete structure weighs approximately 60 tons and incorporates nearly 4,000 individual components. The complex geometry of the project required extensive customization throughout the design and construction. Due to the varying curvatures and torsional conditions of the formwork, all steel and aluminum elements were manufactured as custom components. The individual steel columns were split into seven to fifteen sections, while nearly 10,000 3D coordinate points were used to guide assembly and maintain millimeter-level accuracy.
To realize the double curved surfaces, the design team at Wutopia Lab chose an aluminum honeycomb composite panel system that combines low weight with structural stability and manufacturing flexibility. In total, 1,170 uniquely shaped aluminum panels were fabricated for the project, allowing the whale-like volume to maintain a continuous surface despite its highly customized geometry. The relationship between architecture and storytelling extends beyond the physical structure. During the opening ceremony, a red firework was launched from the center of the gate, instantly bringing the form to life within the nightscape. The event echoed the project’s broader themes of arrival, transformation and indigenous identity.
Rather than functioning solely as a landmark, Whale Gate functions as a symbolic threshold embedded in a residential development. Through the combination of narrative imagery, mechanical geometry and landscape integration, the project explores how architecture can frame everyday experiences through references to myth, memory and place.
project information:
name: Whale Gate
architect: Wutopia Lab | @wutopia.lab
location: Henan, China
area: 242 sq.m
chief architect: Yu Ting
project architect: Pan Dali
preliminary project manager: SUN Liran
preliminary design idea: LI Hao, XIONG Jiaxing, MU Zhilin
customer: Jinsha Group
Construction Design Consultant: Xuhui Design Co., LTD
construction contractor: Jinsha Group
lighting consultants: Chloe ZHANG, WEI Shiyu
structure consultant: to order. Custom Engineering Studio
photographer: Daily Architectural Photography | LIU Guowei
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edited by: Christina Vergopoulou | designboom
