Wu Bin, founder of W.Design and WS Space is at the forefront of modern design, not just in Asia, but the world. Wu was classically trained from an early age in Chinese ink and wash paint by Fu Wenyan, himself the last artist to be tutored by the esteemed Zhang Daqian. Within five years of practising design, Wu established his own firm and has since won a Red Dot Design award, been named the Andrew Martin Interior Designer of the Year, received 6 AD100 awards from Architectural Digest, served on multiple design judging panels and exhibited at Milan Design Week. However, it is his self-styled ‘Modern Orientalism’ design language that he is perhaps most well known for.
This evolved design philosophy integrates traditional Chinese culture with refined Western modernity, balancing symbolism with perspectives, rationalism and sensibility, humanity and nature. All of which creates a new design language, one that both Western and Eastern cultures recognise and emotionally connect with. Characterised by fluid, dynamic, yet tranquil movement, it is Chinese water colours rendered in three dimensions.
Wu Bin’s retreat in Anji, a few hours drive from his office in Shanghai, is a design oasis in the mountains. Perched at tree top level, the retreat offers inspiring views across the canopy, even blending into the vista itself. Wu’s reverence for nature is reflected in his determination to incorporate it into the internal design which, as he says, “should feel invisible.”
“Natural materials dominate. Solid wood floors, raw walls, the undulating stones echo distant peaks.” As Wu says, quoting Li Yu in Leisured Notes: ‘The essence of dwelling lies in simplicity, not extravagance.’
In the inspiring spaces of the retreat, the mountains, trees, sky and peace are the attractions, the architecture and design exist to reveal and celebrate them. Even within ‘invisible’ design there is a desire to surround oneself with elements that reflect nature’s quality, authenticity and simple perfection. This desire has been beautifully fulfilled by Wu Bin and Gaggenau.
