”The cafes in the city and the footprints left in the mountains and forests both represent the wonderful aspects of modern life. I often find myself lost in between these two worlds.”

——Li Wenqiang

PIG DESIGN has been committed to exploring and supporting naturalness and timeliness in all of its initiatives since its inception. PIG DESIGN uses the power of design to build places that support vitality, sunshine, memory, and pleasure, so altering the possible linkages between nature and business, culture, community, and city.

WILD BACK, with its outdoor lifestyle, is set between the tranquil West Lake and the bustling metropolis, providing consumers with a new universe. Natural components such as stones, grassy slopes, and mountains combine to form a wilderness oasis. Visitors will feel as if they are embarking on a thrilling hiking adventure full of anticipation and discovery as they explore the pristine camping ground.

City Outdoor, rediscover the wildness of nature

Located on the front street of the commercial complex Huanglong World Trade Center, WILD BACK covers an area of 2,000 square meters, establishing itself as a new outdoor landmark in Hangzhou. With its wide range of diverse outdoor lifestyle experiences such as food, equipment, and activities, WILD BACK embraces innovative business models that are future-proof and it strives to encourage people to connect with nature and awaken their inner selves.

SNOW PEAK, a well-known Japanese outdoor company, has opened an outdoor equipment store at this site. WILD BACK’s campaign for urban nature complements SNOW PEAK’s objective to encourage a relationship with nature and mankind. These two businesses work together to generate a sense of community through the friendly value and identity of loving the natural world.

PIG DESIGN has completed the landscape, interior, and furniture design for WILD BACK’s GRILL&EATERY Western Restaurant, which carries on the outdoor atmosphere of SNOW PEAK and the wilderness motif of WILD BACK. The project represents a distinct shift in design while remaining faithful to PIG’s prior works by adding nature as a theme.

WILD BACK GRILL&EATERY attempts to create an unspoiled natural retreat inside the urban scene by making essential modifications to the overly refined and polished parts of modern living. The wilderness depicts an unspoiled state, displaying nature’s fundamental essence. It is a realm abounding with difficulties and secrets, providing great meaning to life’s path.

Furthermore, charcoal grilling provides a one-of-a-kind dining experience that reconnects individuals to the origins of their affinity with fire. In this project, the “outdoor” has been viewed as an aesthetic idea apart from its purposes. A sensation of symbiosis with the environment might be felt when dining in a restaurant surrounded by nature. The project’s overall design tries to create a narrative of dining in the wilderness.

Naturally growing, more randomness less plan

The design’s adaptability is incorporated into commercial buildings, which are often seen as the most “worldly” forms of structures. The inclusive public courtyards give the space new meaning, transforming it into a micro-landscape that gradually transitions between the building and the city. This not only improves visual communication, but it also establishes an ideological presence.

The dwarf wall, which bears the brand emblem, serves two functions. It not only provides visual value to the landscape, but it also serves as a symbolic depiction of a pedestrian rest stop. Its placement on the ground hints at the entrance. The pavilion and corridor area are designed to look like rain-sheltering eaves seen while exploring the outdoors. The 1.4-meter expansion allows for a more gradual and delicate entry of rain and sunlight.

Folding windows provide a seamless transition between the indoors and outdoors while also allowing for natural seasonal control of the indoor environment. WILD BACK’s interior has enormous cliff-like rocks with branches reaching from the sides. The branches and leaves are randomly covered with foliage, providing a colorful and energetic mood in a tiny space.

The space’s interior design attempts to preserve the original architectural structure and materials while emphasizing the natural imprints left by time. To portray simplicity, roughness, and a relaxed vibe, the furniture, including custom-made tables and chairs, is reminiscent of stacks of firewood. The wine rack on the bar is comprised of big chunks of wood joined together with light strips, producing a three-dimensional look through light reflection and stainless steel.

A sense of roughness, fueled for design

Li Wenqiang, a self-described “unorthodox designer,” stresses the project’s purpose. He rejects conformity and emphasizes originality, allowing him to tell a unique story that cannot be simply repeated. The project concept began with a hand-drawn organic form of a dining table, which led to the discovery of a natural dining atmosphere. The design rationale for the entire area was created from there.

The harshness of the environment allows us to express ourselves and form true friendships. WILD BACK satisfies a yearning for the great outdoors and offers a chance to reconnect with nature and simplicity, free from the complications of identity and prior experiences. In nature, embracing suffering allows us to experience true comfort. PIG DESIGN aimed to break down social class and recognition barriers by rejecting superficial mediocrity and embracing the freedom of “undefined” design. This “cross-over” technique could also draw people together by developing a sense of togetherness through cross-over resonance.

The renowned architect Kengo Kuma built the SNOW PEAK Field Suite Spa, which features a unique “wildness” that effortlessly combines the indoors and outdoors with 20,000 pieces of logs. The WILD BACK’s “cabin in the woods” structural form reflects this inner spaciousness. The wine cellar, composed of worn old wood, resembles a hut casually crafted by the designer himself, creating a striking contrast.

“The artistic insight involves a sensitive perspective that takes into account specific life states and seeks to create intuitive forms that align with human ecology.” Maybe the function can be transformed into beauty. PIG DESIGN has expertly used utensils to produce delicate touches, objects, and perceptions by avoiding unnecessary lines and overdone shapes. This method enabled them to divide and define the space while presenting the material in its most true and best state.

Brand enhancement has the potential to increase a company’s worth. The issue, however, is in properly connecting with and capturing consumers through brand space. The success of brand space, according to PIG DESIGN, is ultimately defined by individuals’ experiences, intuition, creativity, and imagination. WILD BACK highlights the intrinsic human need to connect with environment and coexist, hence enabling sustainable development.