Merryda Wiki World-Secret Camp
MERRYDA WIKI WORLD-SECRET CAMP
Advanced Architecture Lab, Wiki World
ARCHITECTS
Advanced Architecture Lab, Wiki World
ILLUSTRATION
Wang Yuanying
CLIENT
United Investment Merryda Hotel Management Group
CONSTRUCTION
Wiki World
DESIGN TEAM LEADER
Mu Wei, Feng Zhaoxian, Wu Baorong, He Wen, Xu Xiaodong, Liao Xiaotian, Wang Yuanying, Chen Liang
MANUFACTURERS
Rothoblaas, ELLAI
PHOTOGRAPHS
Arch-Exist
AREA
608 m²
YEAR
2025
LOCATION
Wuhan, China
CATEGORY
Hospitality Architecture, Houses
English description provided by the architects.
"Merryda Wiki World • Secret Camp" is a forest retreat camp created by United Investment Merryda Hotel Management Group in collaboration with Wiki World.
Located on Cihui Street in Dongxihu District, Wuhan, this project is set within a metasequoia forest inhabited by migratory birds, where over a dozen treehouses are discreetly nestled.
It is a magical project—each treehouse seems to have evolved from the birds themselves, each one a friend to the birds perched among the treetops. On ordinary days, you can come here to chirp and chatter along with the birds, keeping them company.
This project is also part of the "Wiki Building School" co-building with nature initiative, representing another attempt by our team to explore the diversity of living spaces.
LIVE WITH NATURE
This is a metasequoia forest inhabited by migratory birds. The design inspiration comes from local birds, seeds, plants, and bird eggs.
We hope that the treehouses are not an intrusion upon nature driven by human wishful thinking but can fully become a part of the natural world.
Therefore, we imagined that the migratory birds transformed into cabins, each with its own unique story and texture: Time Machine, Nomadic land, Playground, Daydreamer, Red Mindmill, and Unicorn.
As always, Wiki World maintains the utmost respect for nature. The project preserved every tree on the site, and the treehouses are constructed using fully elevated prefabricated wooden structures.
The ground remains unhardened and free from artificial landscaping, ensuring the original ecological state of the metasequoia forest is preserved to the greatest extent.
In "Wiki Secrets," we become part of nature once again: here, you will receive "Letters from Birds," which tell you about the wonders of travel; here, you will participate in the exhibition "Evolution of Birds," curated for our feathered friends, and learn about the miraculous evolution of these magical creatures; here, you can DIY your own birdhouse, eagerly awaiting the return of travelers next spring.
CABINS OF BIRDS
If you wish, you may settle comfortably wherever your heart desires. It has always been the aspiration of Wiki World to explore the countless possibilities of wilderness homes.
The imaginations of children have gifted us with endless inspiration, allowing every friend returning to nature to discover their own story here. "Nomadic Land" is a blueprint brought back from a dream, a dreamlike realm miniaturized into a square plot—a tranquil domain with no exit.
"Time Machine" is a silver time machine at the edge of the forest, as if gently placed there by a mysterious figure. It gleams like Doraemon's Anywhere Door, sparking curiosity about where one might travel upon entering.
"Playground" stems from childhood fantasies—the wish to be forgotten by the adults returning home, left behind in a playground.
A small one would suffice, where one can swing alone, climb up and down, gaze at the stars, and sleep under a big tree when tired, whispering "goodnight" to the birds perched above.
Tonight, the playground becomes home. "Daydream" is a treehouse wrapped in mirrored metal, transforming the forest into a kaleidoscope of surreal reflections.
In this private woodland, sunlight bounces off surfaces, blurring the lines between reality and illusion. This is a treehouse that encourages dreaming, where you can sleep up high among the birds.
"Red Windmill" is the dancer of the forest, clad in pure, unadulterated red. The crimson space feels like a theater amidst the trees, with metasequoias and palm trees as performers swaying gracefully in the wind.
"The Unicorn" resembles a mythical creature of the forest, draped in silver armor, its loft rising like a horn pointing skyward.
CREATE TOGETHER IN NATURE
"Wiki Secrets" is also an open forest art gallery and nature school. Exhibitions and spatial installations are scattered throughout the woods, where we regularly collaborate with users to explore interesting topics.
Throughout the year, quirky art festivals are held, paying tribute to nature in eco-friendly ways. Here, we have also built the "Forest Reception," a space where whimsical ideas inspired by nature are brought to life through natural materials.
Creative cultural products include bird-shaped alarm clocks, egg-shaped tables, seed cards, and mini "tree" bags. Additionally, we periodically host the "Wiki Building School" Sino-French Construction Festival, inviting nature-loving adults and children to continue exploring the forms of home in the heart of nature.
WIKI WORLD-BUILD SMALL, DREAM BIG
Wiki World has been committed to returning to natural life through natural construction.
The cabin of sails continues such a natural wild house experiment, jumping out of the inertia of the size of the thinking, focusing on the relationship between living behaviour and environment, the answer of space must be far from the daily living experience, even a little paranoid.
The cabin makes home supper narrow, 'Small' brings us closer to the material, so we are more sensitive. Now that we are in the forest, let's go barefoot for a day and listen to the sound of dead leaves being crushed on the terrace.
BUILD NATURALLY
The entire building adopts a glued timber structure, with each custom-shaped component and joint digitally designed and customized, achieving 100% prefabricated assembly.
When it comes to living spaces, there is certainly no standard answer—everyone hopes their dwelling can reflect their own understanding of life, hence the concept of a "2-meter-wide home" was born.
Wiki World continues its longstanding philosophy of natural construction. We preserved every tree and bamboo on the site, maintaining the original woodland and path textures.
The houses are entirely elevated above the ground, and all structures are independently developed prefabricated timber systems, built collaboratively by the team and the users.
Natural buildings can be built like Lego. Little cabins, like building blocks, were placed in the forest. We stick to the original wild wood construction technique that we hand fired the façade of the carbonized wood boards.
The cabins are all connected by small metal components that can be repeatedly assembled. We try to create a precise relationship between the cabins and the environment in the nature.
Each wooden cabin is elevated above the ground, and no walls or artificial landscapes are used. Nature is the best package.
