Infinite Grove is a mirrored garden pavilion that turns a single tree into an endless forest.

Visitors first see the forest through a small round window. From outside, the pavilion is unassuming: its curved facade unfolds like a half-open folding screen, lifted lightly off the ground, with a tree and its reflections glimpsed through the opening. Inside, two curved walls of mirror-polished stainless steel reflect the tree back and forth, and visitors find themselves in a forest with no visible edge. Look down and there is one tree; look up and there is a forest. The pavilion is small outside and vast within.

The design draws on the classical Chinese garden. The round window frames the view, composing the interior as a picture; the mirrors borrow the scenery, dissolving the walls and drawing the surroundings in. As visitors move, the reflections stretch and overlap, so every step reveals a new view. Behind this lies an old Buddhist image: a mustard seed that contains Mount Sumeru. In Infinite Grove, one tree holds a forest, and the forest reflects the viewer back into the picture.

Commissioned by RPDC Design Week by rednote, the pavilion debuted in the Xintiandi exhibition area of the 2026 Shanghai International Flower Show, where it received a Second Prize. It has since received a Gold Award at the un Design Award and a Gold Award at the German Design Award 2027. Designed from the outset to travel, it is now touring public spaces across the city.

The central tree changes with each site and season. The first stop opened in late spring with an azalea; the second, in summer, used an olive tree. The mirrors multiply whatever stands between them, so the structure stays the same while each new tree makes a new forest. The pavilion becomes a picture frame through which the city watches the seasons turn.

A steel frame carries the structure. The curved inner walls are clad in mirror-polished stainless steel, which, unlike glass, will not shatter and withstands repeated transport. Polycarbonate panels bring in daylight and keep the pavilion light.

The pavilion is fully prefabricated and assembled in the factory. It needs no foundation, leaves the factory in one piece, fits on a single truck, and requires almost no construction on arrival.

In a busy city, Infinite Grove offers a moment of quiet immersion: people step into a small pavilion, stand in a forest, and leave seeing a single tree a little differently.

Project: Infinite Grove

Design: CHANGHAO STUDIO

Lead Architect: Hao Chang

Design Team: Hao Chang, Fan Liu, Chao Li

Landscape Design: Chao Li

Client: RPDC Design Week by rednote

Location: Xintiandi, Shanghai, China

Area: 10 m²

Completion: April 2026

Materials: steel frame, mirror-polished stainless steel, polycarbonate panels

Photography: KAI WAI WONG