The pathway and the canopy.

The pathway and the canopy.

The source beneath the canopy.

Canopy, walkway and forest.

Plan of elements in the roof.

The steel sheets of the path are shaped to allow the path to follow the irregular plan.

Detail showing alternative assemblies of steel elements in the pathway.

Timber portal by the main entrance.

Timber portal by the main entrance.



For a drinking water company in northern China, Jensen & Skodvin Arkitekter have designed a canopy over a water source, in a conservation area forest. No large machines are allowed, so the path is made with prefabricated elements that can be transported by manpower and assembled in different ways to weave the structure between the existing trees.

The material is 4 mm thick stainless steel sheet, folded to make the whole roof work as a series of beams. Each module can span up to nine meters, and can vary in size, shape and position, and be joined to a neighbouring element without losing its structural and morphological properties; a strict structural and geometric system applied to a complex site.

Read Einar Bjarki Malmquist’s interview with Jan Olav Jensen about the Changbai project here.