Set among low hills in Dun’ao Village, near Ningbo in China’s Zhejiang Province, Down in the Clouds presents a quiet yet unconventional transformation of agricultural land. Designed by Practice on Earth in collaboration with Increments Studio, the project reworks abandoned field structures into a sequence of small cultural interventions that prioritize bodily experience, lightness, and a close relationship with the surrounding landscape.
LANDSCAPE
Dun’ao Village sits inland within a shallow valley, a condition captured by the character 岙 (ào), which describes land enclosed by hills. From the outset, the design team sought to preserve the sense of calm associated with this setting. Instead of relying on conventional architectural language, the project began through short poems and illustrations that framed the farmland as a place for reflection, play, and informal gathering. This abstract approach guided a design process focused on how people move, rest, and interact with nature at close range.
The new structures replace a collection of disused elements scattered across the fields, including billboards, storage sheds, and utility buildings. Working within tight budget and construction timelines, the studios selected steel containers and inflatable structures for their adaptability and speed of installation. The challenge lay in combining these contrasting systems to produce spaces that feel intentional, light, and welcoming rather than improvised.
At the entrance to the farmland, the Cloud Cafe establishes a new point of arrival. An inflatable “cloud” floats above a customized container tower, forming a deep cantilevered canopy that shelters visitors from sun and rain without interrupting agricultural activity. Inside the 3×3×8-meter container, a compact coffee station supports the outdoor platform below, while a viewing deck above becomes accessible only by passing through the inflatable. From this elevated position, visitors overlook rice fields and distant hills, reinforcing the project’s connection to place.
Further into the site, the Leaning Cinema occupies the footprint of an existing billboard. Here, the container tilts at a 15-degree angle and rests on just two structural points, minimizing contact with the ground. The supporting columns hide behind inflatable rings, producing an unexpected visual contrast between mass and softness. Inside, the 30-square-meter screening room integrates seating, projection, climate control, and acoustics into a compact, carefully detailed interior designed for year-round use.
At the foot of the hills, the Secret Reading Room offers a quieter encounter. Seven spherical inflatables sit within an elevated steel frame, forming a circular enclosure without a formal entrance. Visitors must gently push through the soft surfaces to enter, discovering through touch that the spheres are flexible rather than solid. Inside, stainless steel desks, aluminum ceilings, and gridded floors create a sharp counterpoint to the inflated forms, while filtered daylight produces shifting shadows across the space.
Inflatables, typically associated with temporary installations, operate here as permanent architectural components. Achieving durability required extensive prototyping and close collaboration with manufacturers. Each intervention uses a different inflation strategy, tailored to scale, climate exposure, and use. The process involved repeated testing, from small-scale models to full-size mock-ups, ensuring feasibility and clarity during on-site assembly.
Down in the Clouds demonstrates how small-scale interventions can reframe agricultural land as a shared cultural space. Through careful experimentation and local collaboration, Practice on Earth and Increments Studio deliver a project that remains light in touch, attentive to context, and open to surprise.
