Project: A protective roof over a spring water source in Jilin province, China

The Nongfu Spring water company has a tapping factory in Changbai Mountain National Park Reserve, in the Jilin Province, close to the North Korean border. From the high rafted industrial hall, a path weaves its way through a dense forest. Jensen and Skodvin architects (JSA) has designed a parametric path bending horizontally like a bicycle chain, adapting to the forest floor. The source is protected by a roof made from thin steel plates, welded together in a distorted saddle roof geometry, forming a surprising, minimalist and lightweight structure. "When seen from above, the canopy looks like a Chinese dragon. When seen from the path in sunlight, which causes variations in the reflection and shadowing, the canopy brings to mind a piece of origami, folded and set afloat in the woods. When seen in the dark, it looks like a giant rock that for some strange reason has lodged itself between the trees. Underneath the canopy, right by the spring, the irregular structure of thin steel plates