Photos of Yunshui Pavilion
About Yunshui Pavilion
Yunshui Temple sits all alone at the top of the Yunmeng Hills park in Xinpu. It is a unique Daoist temple with no walls. Kengo Kuma designed it around the taiji idea that a building should not be shut off from what surrounds it. So there are no walls and no doors, just a timber frame carrying a wide curving roof that is open to the forest on every side. The intricate frame is made from 178 pieces of Alaskan yellow cedar, joined the traditional Chinese way with mortise and tenon work, so there is also no nails used anywhere. The roof is copper, which starts out bright orange and slowly oxidizes to green over the years. Copper was picked so it would eventually match the trees around it. Inside, the shell curves up and the intricate wood beams spread out overhead like ribs. There is lots of space inside the temple to shoot straight up into the joinery. Plus, because there are no walls you can work the building from any angle you like, with daylight coming in from all sides. Late in the day is better from outside, when low sun runs in under the eaves and warms the copper. Remember that it is a working temple dedicated to Wang Chan Lao Zu, and people come here to pray, so keep that in mind while you're shooting. Also you must take your shoes off before you go under the roof. Elsewhere in the park there is another Kuma piece, a pyramid built from triangular wooden blocks, along with camellia gardens, a hot spring foot bath and peacocks wandering the paths. (Xinpu, Hsinchu County, Taiwan)
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