Chinese Architecture Today 9783035608618, 303560861X

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CHINESE ARCHITECTURE TODAY

Interior Designer (Ed.)

Birkhäuser Basel

China Architecture & Building Press Beijing

Interior Designer, published by China Architecture & Building Press since 2006, blends a focus on China with a global vision. Its perspectives and insights have won the magazine wide acclaim. In introducing readers to the works of designers and architects as well as the stories behind their projects, the magazine both witnesses and promotes the development of contemporary Chinese architecture and interior design.

Concept: Zhang Huizhen, Xu Fang, Alexander Felix Chinese Text Editors: Xu Mingyi, Li Wei Editors: Sun Shuyan, Zhang Huizhen, Xu Mingyi Translation from Chinese into English: Sherra Wong, Jade Hung, Liu Wanyun / China Translation Corporation Copy editing: Keonaona Peterson Project management: Sun Shuyan, Silke Martini, Alexander Felix Layout, cover design, typesetting, and production: Zhu Tao

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the German National Library The German National Library lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in other ways, and storage in databases. For any kind of use, permission of the copyright owner must be obtained. This publication is also available as an e-book (ISBN PDF 978-3-0356-0861-8; ISBN EPUB 978-3-0356-0850-2).

© 2016 Birkhäuser Verlag GmbH, Basel P.O. Box 44, 4009 Basel, Switzerland Part of Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Printed on acid-free paper produced from chlorine-free pulp. TCF ∞

Printed in the People’s Republic of China ISBN 978-3-0356-0979-0

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 www.birkhauser.com

CONTENTS

6

Preface

1

14

Architecture Studio in the Wujigeng Building, Nanjing University

RENOVATION

22

Exhibition Venue Conversion of The Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism \ Architecture (UABB)

40

O-office

48

Daxi Tea Factory

56

Folding Screens

2

64

Long Museum West Bund

CULTURE

78

Jixi Museum

88

Shuijingfang Museum

96

Impressionistic Jiangnan

104

Red Brick Art Museum

112

Nanjing Wanjingyuan Garden Chapel

120

Kindergarten in Shanghai International Automobile City

3

132

The Mountain Residence by the Waterside

HOTELS AND

144

Placid Mogan Retreats

RESTAURANTS

154

Xiangxiangxiang Boutique Container Hotel

160

Mercato at Three on The Bund

168

Pusu Restaurant

176

Teppanyaki Xiang Restaurant

182

Bamboo Courtyard Teahouse

4

190

Vertical Glass House

RESIDENTIAL

196

The Archi-Experiment in Chunxiao Town

BUILDINGS

204

Tapered House

210

Half Garden Half House

5

218

LTS Sales Office

COMMERCIAL

224

Lin’an Taiyang Bamboo-Structure Pigsty

BUILDINGS

230

Wuyishan Bamboo Raft Factory

6

PREFACE

7

Hu Heng

In modern Chinese architectural history, the 2008 Beijing Olympics is a juncture. Within a mere ten years after we started the Olympics bid in 1998, numerous giant buildings rose one after another with an injection of inspiration from Western master architects, most notably the Bird’s Nest (Beijing National Stadium) and CCTV Headquarters Building. As a result, they have changed the urban landscape and updated people’s understanding about architecture; more important, they have afforded local architects opportunities to directly learn from Western modern architecture. In the post-Olympics era, after the masters exited and people’s enthusiasm for huge structures dissipated, local architects entered a new learning phase of reflection on modernism to seek original creation. The twenty-six projects included in this book embody such an evolution during this phase.    Prior to the Beijing Olympic Games, modernism to most contemporary Chinese architects was as the Mother-Thing to the subject in the fantasy framework set forth in Slavoj Žižek’s psychoanalytic theory. The subject (architect) is emotionally attached to the object (modernism), which is especially so for those who have received an education in modern architecture (probably most of the architects in this book have). This attachment is only present in fantasy, since modernism and Chinese reality are fundamentally separate from each other in their own worlds. However, they have inevitably come together due to the present situation: the fantasy is now the reality. This crisscrossing is neither a natural energy exchange driven by globalization nor a professional presentation extended from the architect’s training. The convergence occurs because in modern China, modernism has become a key word in the symbolic order of reality, the big Other; modernism echoes the desired model (centered on the Beijing Olympic Games and Shanghai World Expo) of the big Other. In other words, modernism is legitimated: it takes on the function of Kant’s transcendental schematism and provides a series of fantasy frameworks. The architecture developed from these frameworks are the maternal substitutes

that satisfy the desire of the big Other and bring pleasure to the subject (architects).    This thrill is derived from the fulfillment of the fantasized attachment. At the beginning, the Mother-Thing of the fantasy framework refers to the Idols, the iconic figures in the field of architecture, such as Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Louis Kahn, and Carlo Scarpa. However, with the arrival of new generations of representatives (the continuous influx of global talents), the fantasy framework has been altered. The isolated Mother-Thing—including all the masters, new and old—has been strung together and woven into a big globe, a world of knowledge that houses the hundred-year history of modernism. Each practice of Chinese architects is no longer an homage to the great idols but rather is an expedition into the depth of this world of knowledge; because even these practices are only sporadic re-presentations of the symbolic language, visual elements, or local treatments of the world, they all touch upon the overall framework and its intrinsic logic, which have been repeatedly revisited in the process. Thus, the patterns gradually emerge, from Koolhaas to Mies, from Álvaro Siza to Le Corbusier; the original independent ideologies are now connected and have historical significance. Those maternal substitutes are not merely the architects’ sacrificial offerings to the idols; they embody the apprehension after learning why Corbusier and Mies are important and how Koolhaas and Siza came about.    After 2008 the fantasy framework disintegrated rapidly. The most important reason is the dramatic change of the big Other’s desire, of which the original core (Olympic Games, World Expo), now history, has been replaced with new content (style of the Han and Tang dynasties, rural construction). In this case, the legitimacy of modernism is no longer emphasized—it is even deliberately played down. As we have seen, its glamour has gone with the departure of the new representatives. For Chinese architects, modernism no longer has the effect of transcendental schematism, but is in the cradle of individual experimentation. However, although the fantasy framework

1

1 / CCTV Rem Koolhaas, former partner Ole Scheeren (until 2010), partner David Gianotten, photographed by Iwan Baan

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3

1 / Bird’s Nest 2 / Long Museum 3 / Vertical Glass House

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ceased to exist, the learning continues and rises to a new level. As their enthusiastic exploration into the world of knowledge is embarrassed by the short stay of representatives, Chinese architects have begun to reexamine the world itself. As a result, the entire framework of modernism has a fresh look. On the one hand, it is connected to a larger system—the whole Western architectural tradition; on the other hand, the avant-garde, as an important breed of modernism, revitalizes the soil.    The former marks Chinese architects’ further understanding of modernism: the modernist spatial syntax is no longer regarded as a unique creation of the new age; instead, its origin can be traced back to ancient Rome. For example, the roof design of the Shanghai Long Museum (completed in 2014 and designed by Liu Yichun) indicates a successful departure from the constraint of images and the temptation of symbols, and lands in a key conception of Western architecture—roof as the primary element to determine the spatial order. This concept was originated in ancient Rome, manifested in the works of modernist architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies, and Kahn, and widely used by contemporary Japanese architects, but it is only recently upheld by young Chinese architects. The Shanghai Long Museum is a fairly rare building with a flavor of ancient Rome. It shows that the new goal of learning is to abandon the modernist vocabulary acquisition but to search for the vital and essential principles in the new world of knowledge.    The avant-garde has made several striking entries into the contemporary Chinese context by the name of experimental architecture, or pioneer building. However, it gradually faded from the landscape. Obviously, the term (regardless of the intention) conflicted with the desire of the big Other. The Vertical Glass House (completed in 2013 and designed by Yung Ho Chang in 1991) heralds the return of the avant-garde. Of course, the original intention of this architecture is quite different from the avant-garde spirit; it is designed to serve as a proven honor of the designer and is supported by a splendid large-scale art exhibition, but it still bears on avant-garde thinking: to build use-

less architecture, of which the physical form can be supported by virtue of the presence of a core concept that transcends pragmatic value. To what extent spiritual power can hold up the Vertical Glass House is still unknown. But this is a signal. It implies that the desire of the big Other does not exclude avant-garde experiments now, whether to explore the limits of architectural language or to convey (critically) the force of the void. In general, the avant-garde always appears in the fissure between the turning point of the times and reality. That the design of the Vertical Glass House was completed more than twenty years before it was materialized for the Shanghai West Bund Biennale is thought-provoking.    Both are tough lessons: to experience grandeur (of ancient Rome) and to appreciate the radicalism (of the avant-garde); and in fact, both features are contrary to the traditionally humble and conservative character of Chinese architects. Most of them possess the virtue of a fine traditional artisan and the strength to refine their skills and convey their aesthetics in compliance with the rules. Thus, what they have learned from modernism is ultimately the latest aesthetics of craftsmanship. This also explains the popularity of constructivism in China. However, precisely because of this, it is important to know what grandeur and radicalism are, which lead us to the core of modernism—to construct, to destruct, and to overhaul the rules; and this leads us to the world of architecture—to evidence cultural evolution and mankind’s self-transcendence rather than a sophisticated aesthetic technology.    During the Olympics, we experienced some kind of grandeur (such as the Bird’s Nest) and radicalism (such as the CCTV Building). In fact, they have little to do with architecture. Now Chinese architects start their hands-on experience with these two qualities. This should be the biggest achievement of a new round of learning—stepping into the creative world with self-negation.    Learning has switched its focus from filling the knowledge gap to challenging our own inherent limitations. Obviously, the former is a joy, the latter a pain. However, the latter is

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1 / Nanjing Wanjingyuan Garden Chapel 2 / Shuijingfang Museum 3 / Architecture Studio in the Wujigeng Building 4 / Mercato at Three on the Bund

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more meaningful. It suggests that Chinese architects have completely come out of the fantasy framework and have started to think like their Western counterparts and to explore the ultimate mystery of architecture with them.    This is a long-term endeavor; the finish line is still out of sight. So far, we have a few buildings with emerging signs of the pursuit, such as the modern Rome of the Long Museum, the modern Gothic of the Nanjing Wanjingyuan Garden Chapel (designed by Zhang Lei) and the anti-Mies Vertical Glass House. In this lengthy preparation phase, there are many things for architects to care about. At present, two huge training grounds are set in front of them: rural construction and renovation projects. Both have a congenital condition to facilitate architectural practice and exercises. The natural environment of the countryside is free of ideological burden and flamboyant excesses; thus, the architect can focus on refining the space’s purity and forging its strength as well as contemplating the grandeur of the architecture. Hua Li has excelled in his last few rural works, indicating the setting clearly has had a positive impact on him.    Reconstruction is the traditional field where avant-garde architects gather. Construction starts with two sets of fundamental contradictions—internal and external, new and old—the beloved subjects of the avant-garde. The new design will nullify the (old) structure once its portion reaches above a certain degree. Avantgarde architects are quite skillful with such an imbalanced, conflict-enlarging, destructive approach. Besides, the architect can control the degree of boundary-breaching, which usually brings about good results as evidenced by many outstanding renovation projects. The Shuijingfang Museum (designed by Liu Jiakun) and Wujigeng Building of Nanjing University (designed by Zhang Lei), both completed in 2013, are successful renovation examples that strike a balance between the conflicting elements. That is, a little step further (if the humble exterior wall of the former and the clean white interior of the latter were not that “pure”), and they would enter avant-garde territory. In addition, renovation is also a good playground to showcase a sense of humor (ironic wit,

teasing/self-ridicule), which is another characteristic of the avantgarde yet rarely found in Chinese architects. Maybe this is another lesson for them.    There is another special venue for renovation: interior design. In a big city like Shanghai, it has become the designer’s main battlefield. To Chinese architects, interior design has long been regarded as small “mending” projects that are not comparable to construction. Now, it is treated as the avant-garde and has become an important subject of study for architects. They have found that in the world of knowledge it is the final destination of the art of design (where all fantasy, Mother-Thing, transcendental schematism, and even the big Other vanish), as reflected in the murals, tapestry, and stucco sculptures displayed in churches, residences, and country houses from the Renaissance. Of course, this is a very challenging lesson—that world (Renaissance) is even more remote than the avant-garde or Ancient Rome to them. A pleasant surprise is that, regarding this aspect, the Mercato Italian Restaurant at Three on the Bund (designed by Neri & Hu) completed in 2012, has taken a key step.    Learning is going on. The knowledge we constantly draw from others prompts our acquisition of new capabilities. We have witnessed grandeur, radicalism, humor, and the Italian interest. These flickers of human nature otherwise quite strange to us flash on and off in this book. They underpin our exploration into the ultimate secrets of architecture and represent the interrelationships among the twenty-six works.

1 RENOVATION

ARCHITECTURE STUDIO IN THE WUJIGENG BUILDING, NANJING UNIVERSITY EXHIBITION VENUE CONVERSION OF THE BI-CITY BIENNALE OF URBANISM \ ARCHITECTURE (UABB) O-OFFICE DAXI TEA FACTORY FOLDING SCREENS

14

ARCHITECTURE STUDIO IN THE WUJIGENG BUILDING, NANJING UNIVERSITY The Wujigeng Building in Nanjing University’s Gulou campus was built in the 1930s, during the Republican era, as part of Jinling College. It is now a major historical and cultural site protected at the national level. The basic style of the Wujigeng Building is that of Northern Chinese governmental architecture, with cyclindrical tiles on a round ridge roof and plain outer walls made of green-gray bricks. The structure is made of reinforced concrete, an advancement from the West at the time, which joins with the remaining brick-and-wood structure. One of Nanjing University’s most important historical buildings, the Wujigeng Building is also a witness to the tumult of the last hundred years, a symbol of the university, and an enduring memory in the minds of generations of students.   During the Jinling College era, the Wujigeng Building served as a student dormitory, with rooms on both sides of the hallways. It was lightly renovated after the founding of the People’s Republic and used as the administrative building for the School of Foreign Languages. With these new administrative functions, the Wujigeng Building had to abandon its original spatial organization and adapt to the open-plan style of the modern office.    The original wooden interior walls did not bear weight because of the use of the advanced reinforced-concrete structure at the time of the building’s construction. In the conversion, some of the wooden walls were torn down to create open offices or research facilities. The drop ceiling of the storage loft was also removed, resulting in an open exhibition and conference space. The conversion improved efficiency in the use of the space, as well as the ventilation and lighting.    For a hundred years, every generation has renovated the Wujigeng Building and adapted it for its own particular purposes. The last renovation during the 1970s and 1980s left behind the unmistakable marks of the era: terrazzo floors, wooden bannisters, and wooden window casings. To preserve these footprints of time, the designers changed as little as possible in their design. In addition, they sought to display the structural aesthetic of the building itself, such as the textures of the plain brick walls and the wooden building frame, and emphasize them in the new space.    The appearances of the concrete columns, the terrazzo floors in the public spaces (the original hallways and staircas-

es), and the wooden window casings in the building were retained and have become the main elements of expression in the open spaces. Only a light coat of white paint was added to the plain brick walls, the concrete beams, and the open concrete floors, and their existing textures were retained as a part of the white overall ambience. Black double-hung windows inside the wooden casings make the building more energy-efficient, emphasize the original wooden window frames, and frame the outside views.    The terrazzo floors and wooden bannisters at the staircases were retained. Wooden panels taken down from the original structure were sanded, processed, and repurposed into side walls. The walls were given a light coat of white paint. Through the use of perspective, the horizontal lines in the textures that remain from the splicing guide the eye toward the original unfinished plain brick walls and wooden-cased windows.    The drop ceiling in the attic was removed, revealing the wooden frame behind it. After a simple cleaning and under clever lighting, the frame has a massive visual impact when viewed together with the surrounding wooden grille and the wood-textured floor.    The preserved architectural elements, marked by the passage of time, are intensified with design techniques and integrated into the new spaces and even become the focus of these new spaces. For example, the columns in the hallways and the terrazzo floors in the open offices (or research spaces) are emphasized with the tightly woven white grilles in the ceilings. The textures from the splicing of the white wooden panels focus attention on the plain brick walls and wooden windows at the staircases. And the raw-wood grilles on both sides highlight the bare wooden building frame in the open exhibition and conference space on the top floor.    Space is at the core of modern architecture. As part of a building in the classical style, the Wujigeng Building’s picture-perfect facade is the symbol of Nanjing University and one of Nanjing’s calling cards. The conversion emphasizes spatial design and incorporates the building’s historical features into the design so that the spaces and the classical facade can blend into modernity with all their contradictions as well as their single identity. Together, they approach the world with a new vigor and embody the ideas behind their presence.

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1 / Entrance

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3 4 1, 2 / Staircase 3 / Plan of F1 4 / Plan of F2 5 / Lounge 6 / Plan of F3

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Front desk

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Architecture studio

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Office space

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Conference room

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Lounge

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Exhibition hall

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Library

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1 3 2 1, 3 / Studio work space 2 / Staircase separates different work spaces.

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1 / Exhibition hall 2 / Conference room on the top floor 3 / Small conference room 4 / Library

LOCATION / Nanjing, Jiangsu Province AREA / 2,000 m2 LEAD DESIGNER / Qi Wei DESIGN / ISO Workshop (Qi Wei, Pu Wei, Fang Yunping ) DESIGN CONSULTANT / Zhang Lei DESIGN COORDINATION / AZL Architects DATE OF DESIGN / 2013 COMPLETED / 2013 PHOTOGRAPHY / Yao Li

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EXHIBITION VENUE CONVERSION OF THE BI-CITY BIENNALE OF URBANISM \ ARCHITECTURE (UABB)

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1 / Silo building

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2 / Master plan of the factory

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Main entrance

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Machine hall

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Silo building

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Warehouse

On December 6, 2013, the 2013 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\ Architecture (Shenzhen) opened in the Shekou Industrial Zone in Nanshan District, Shenzhen. Shenzhen launched its first biennale in 2005 and invited Hong Kong to participate starting in 2007. The cities have successfully held four exhibitions together. The fifth Bi-City Biennale (Shenzhen) marked the first time

0

5 10

25 m

where two teams jointly curated the exhibition: Ole Bouman’s team and the Li Xiangning/Jeffrey Johnson team, who planned the exhibition around the theme of the Urban Border. Venue A for this biennale was the Value Factory (the former Guangdong Float Glass Factory), and Venue B was the Art Archive (originally a warehouse at the Shekou port).

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1 / Value farm

Platform entrance

2–4 / Opening scene 5 / Postexhibition

Lighthouse

functional decomposition graph

Media center

of the glass factory 6 / Sketch

Spatial design club

7 / Main entrance

VIP room Architecture Sensuality Museum

Art exhibition space

Design education Restaurant / Bar

Bell tower Accessory commercial space

Event space

Sample residence / Office converted from container

Landscape park

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MAIN ENTRANCE

The factory buildings from the 1980s were crumbling amid the gradual changes of the industrial zone, and these former industrial giants lay forgotten at the edge of the city. The curatorial team and the architects of the 2013 Bi-City Biennale hoped to awaken the dormant vitality of these factory buildings with a light touch and unveil them to the public with the new image of the Value Factory. NODE was responsible for designing the conversion of the main entrance and the sand warehouse area.    In the main entrance conversion, the new space—which equaled the original warehouse in area—was supported by a

structure that grew out of the older building and engaged in a dialogue with the older building as a peer. The new space was enclosed by a layer of metal drapes and a second layer of glass, which made it both airy and mysterious.    The area between the folded canopy and the roof of the older building provided a transitional space that marked the entrance to the factory venue and fittingly featured the chimney. The diagonally placed platform led visitors to the spiral path that wrapped itself around the chimney and then to the ground floor of the factory venue.

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Bridge

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Media center, bookshop, souvenir shop

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Multifunction indoor space

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Pool

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Restroom

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Outdoor rooftop

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Entrance platform

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Staircase

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1 / Lighthouse 2, 3 / Sectional view 4 / Bevelled platform at the entrance 5, 6 / Dialogue between the new space and the old building on an equal footing

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New volume

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New columns and beams with folded ceiling

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Existing roof

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Existing structure

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LOCATION / Yaopi Glass Factory, Shekou Industrial Zone, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province OWNER / Shekou Industrial Zone, China Merchants Group PROJECT AREA / 1,020 m2 (originally 620 m2 and expanded by 400 m2) DESIGN TEAM / Liu Heng (NODE, lead creative designer), Yang Yuhuan, Remi Loubsens,

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3 4

Huang Jiebin, Wu Congsheng, Chen Liangpeng RAMP PROJECT COLLABORATION / Nitsche, NEXT Architects

1 / Main entrance

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Media center, bookshop, souvenir shop

STRUCTURAL DESIGN / Norendar International, Ltd.

2 / Plan of F1

2

Water pool

LIGHTING DESIGN / Light Process

3 / Plan of entrance plat-

3

Entrance platform

DATE OF DESIGN / June–September 2013

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Existing roof

COMPLETED / December 2013

4 / Plan of rooftop

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Roof

PHOTOGRAPHY / Zeng Han, NODE

5 / Axonometric drawing

form

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MACHINE HALL

The Guangdong Float Glass Factory once enjoyed a period of glory. As the first glass factory in Shenzhen, it is invaluable from a historical perspective. But with the passage of time, this factory at the edge of the city could not keep up with the pace of technological change and fell into oblivion.    The 2013 Bi-City Biennale was an opportunity for this abandoned factory to turn into a Value Factory. Ole Bouman, a curator of the exhibition, sought to shed new light on the value of the building, which had remained in the background, and bring it into the public eye. The designers were guided by the principle of the lightest touch, preserving the appearance of the factory as much as possible and transforming the manufacturing process of the glass factory into the viewing route of the exhibition: the manifesto hall, centered around the theme of fire; the exhibition hall, with water as its spirit; and the partnership area, with people as the focus.    The manifesto hall pays homage to the original function of the room: this is where the various components of glass were melted in furnaces. The manifesto of the biennale was written in red LED lights, which symbolized the heat in the room and the concept of fire. The charcoal covering the floor represented the kindling. The darkness and the heat were designed to bring

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1 / Entrance 2 / Stone pillars in the machine hall 3 / Plan of the underground floor 4 / Plan of the aboveground floor 5 / Plan of the aboveground mezzanine 6 / Plan of rooftop

discomfort and a sense of awe to visitors. The exhibition hall was the most important place in the former factory, whose original elements and textures were preserved as much as possible. A sunken plaza in the center accommodates a spectacular column formation. Together with the reflections on the water surface and the sound of the incessant flow of water, it creates a serene, meditative atmosphere. On the walkway, a new, glittering metal railing and overhead LED lighting guide visitors through the entire building. Exhibit displays block the light from a set of windows and outside distractions, forming a quiet environment in which people can experience the full flavor of these industrial ruins. The grille removed from the bottom floor stepped into the shoes of the upper-floor windows to cast subtle effects of light and shadows. The partnership area, focused on people, hosts exhibitions and panels from international cultural institutions and serves as a networking venue. This was the center of energy and activity in the converted building. An overpass, serving as the transitional space between the partnership area and the exhibition hall, propped itself lightly on the column piers of the existing structure at a height of 9.2 meters. In the afternoon, a ray of light shines through a round opening that remains, enveloping the area in numinosity.

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1–4 / Sectional view 5–7 / Exhibition space in the hall

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LOCATION / Machine Hall of the Float Glass Factory in Shekou, Shenzhen PRINCIPAL / Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture Organizing Committee Office PROJECT DESIGN / Chen Zetao (FCHA, Shenzhen, China), Pedro Riveira (RUA Architects, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Milena Zaklanovich (Basic City, Rotterdam, the Netherlands) SITE AREA / 10,000 m2 FLOOR AREA / 8,000 m2 DEVELOPER / China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings Co., Ltd. CONSTRUCTION PLAN / FCHA STRUCTURAL EQUIPMENT / Norendar International, Ltd. LIGHTING DESIGN / FCHA, Shenzhen Lighting Design Association DATE OF DESIGN / 2013 COMPLETED / 2013 PHOTOGRAPHY / Shenzhen Zeus Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.

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SILO BUILDING

Although many industrial silos in China are no longer in use, they still dominate urban skylines. These peculiar structures are still looking for ways to go forward, so far without a clear direction. The silo conversion in the 2013 Bi-City Biennale came up with an original response to this problem. The architects transformed the silo into an experiential “church space.” The space itself, filled with spiritual force, became an exhibit of spatial experience in the biennale.    The silos had stored raw materials like sand, limestone, soda ash, and dolomite: they were built for materials, not people. In the early years of the factory’s operations, 500 tons of raw materials were melted down every day. Each silo held from one to two thousand tons. Factory workers raised the materials to the top of the silo with elevators and dumped them into the silo. Materials were mixed here in accordance with set proportions and sent into the line of production.    The four large consecutive silos all stand 36 meters in height and 12.6 meters in diameter. The reorganization of the lines of movement brought the appeal of the silos to the fore; these silos, which used to deal with materials only, became architectural museums. The experience of these “churches of architecture”—the architects used the wording churches in nam-

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1 / With multiple cylinders standing in a line, the factory is converted into church space. 2 / The renovated spiral staircase

ing the silo designs—begins at the entrance on the west side of the first level through which materials used to enter. (Coincidentally, the entrance to Catholic churches also usually face the west.) The visitor is then led eastward through the exit at the lower part of the cylindrical silo and into the lower level of the rectangular structure, the place from which the materials used to be elevated. Following the only staircase upward, one can see several horizontal openings on the floor and vertical openings on the walls and experience the intriguing relationships between the environments within, without, and the differing heights in the structure. This location, at a height of six floors, used to be where workers measured the materials and sent them to the factory. A one-meter square opening on the floor allowed them to move materials vertically. The designers sealed these openings with glass, through which one can see the ground directly from the top floor. These layers of glass, coupled with the atmosphere of the abandoned factory building, project a surreal effect. After traveling through the six levels of vertical spaces and arriving at the 36-meter-high elongated horizontal linear space through which materials used to enter, visitors can view the factory area and the wharves in the distance through several openings in the silo. The outdoor viewing deck on top of the two small steel silos toward the western end afford a bird’s-eye view of the factory area, and the sea and the hills of Hong Kong in the distance, as well as a mask of fresh air from between the sea and the hills. He Jianxiang from O-office, one of the architects who worked on the conversion of the silos, said he hoped that all the gestures they had on this space acted as mere “triggers.” Their intent was to preserve the distance between the old and the new and the sense of awe toward history. For this reason, his design deliberately retained the silos’ industrial coarseness in order to allow visitors to engage in one-on-one dialogues with the space.    Visitors reach the bottom of the silo by entering the first large silo on the west side from the top of the “church of architecture” and walking at a leisurely pace down the new spiral staircase attached to the wall of the silo. Then they pass through the three remaining large silos one by one, through a new experience of architecture, through enclosed spaces that used to hold large quantities of raw materials, to feel silence, darkness, and themselves.    The spiral staircase in the silo, a geometric structure that resembles New York’s Guggenheim Museum, also creates a different spatial experience for visitors.

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F1

11.95-meter elevation

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1 / T-shaped glass platform on the top floor 2, 3 / The designers paved the freight passage with glass. 4 / Plans after renovation 5 / The principle of “slightest touch” is ob-

22.85-meter elevation

served in the overall renovation. 6 / Section

33.33-meter elevation

36.00-meter elevation

LOCATION / Shekou Industrial Zone, Shenzhen SITE AREA / 2,281.8 m2 (large silo), 472.8 m2 (small silo) FLOOR AREA / 2,662.7 m2 (large silo) CONCEPT DESIGN / Jiang Ying (O-office), Teemu Hirvilammi (Lassila & Hirvilammi Architects), Marc Maurer and Aleksander Joksimovic (Maurer United Architects) ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN / O-office ARCHITECTS / He Jianxiang, Jiang Ying DESIGN TEAM / Thomas Odorico, Liang Zilong, Dong Jingyu DATES OF DESIGN / April–July 2013 COMPLETED / November 2013 TEXT / Xu Mingyi INFORMATION / Courtesy of O-office

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4

WAREHOUSE

The original warehouse itself was unremarkable. As the area for public services in the factory area, it was converted in a simple manner. A new mezzanine connected the three originally separate spaces and provided a route for experiencing the space.

The first level was divided into three disparate functional areas. The new parts of the building retained the initial texture of steel, and the use of industrial provisional materials made it a natural extension of the existing components.

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1 2

6

3 4 5

7

1 / Activity room 2 / Little theater / Lecture hall 3 / South elevation 4 / East elevation 5 / North elevation

Rooftop and facade

6 / Axonometric drawing 7 / A new mezzanine

Structural system

The added F2

LOCATION / Yaopi Glass Factory, Shekou Industrial Zone, Shenzhen OWNER / China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings Co., Ltd. FLOOR AREA / 4,074 m2 (2,756 m2 in the original building and 1,318 m2 in the expansion) DESIGN TEAM / Liu Hang (NODE, lead creative designer), Yang Yuhuan, Huang Jiebin, Multifunction exhibition hall of sponsor area

F1

Wu Congsheng, Li Pengcheng STRUCTURAL DESIGN / Norendar International, Ltd. LIGHTING DESIGN / Light Process

Little theater / Lecture hall

DATE OF DESIGN / June–September 2013 COMPLETED / November 2013 PHOTOGRAPHY / Zeng Han, NODE

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O-OFFICE

Architects always wish their offices to be agreeable since they stay long hours and even eat and sleep in the offices during busy periods. The studios of O-office Architects on the top of an old warehouse fully express this understanding.    Built in 1934, the warehouse once stored the barley used by the Guangzhou Brewery. At the time, the top floor of the warehouse was where the barley lifted from the ground was transported horizontally and poured into silos. The sealed interior stretches in a linear fashion. Door frames are placed 3 meters apart and form a structural whole, with clear relationship, with the vertical girders. At 54 meters in height and 7 meters in width, the floor has three rows of staggered openings measuring 80 × 80 centimeters that lead directly to the silos below.    The traditional front desk at the entrance has been replaced with a small bar, which seems to offer a cup of coffee and a seat at the counter to the architects dashing by. The silos stand in two rows next to the original structure. We installed five doors on both the north and south walls, which form part of the twelve semicircular balconies constructed from the tops of the silos. The rough-hewn door leaves are specially customized to open completely at 180 degrees. The light in the morning and the evening splashes on the large red stone slabs on the balconies and seems to bewitch them. The architects claim balconies near their desks as their own, tending to the plants on the balconies and releasing the tension that has built up during the day. The main workspace opens along the length of the studio. A functional area was built that partially takes up the south side of two levels. The second level is a storage space for samples and materials. The first level includes five wooden units with identical dimensions built adjacent to openings in the walls. They are the rooms for the model cutter, storage of model-making materials, the copy machine, and storage for technical drawings and drafting paper. Each modification on this typical horizontal section is standardized as much as possible, and the materials used are common, easily processed industrial products such as steel plates, hot-dip galvanized tubes, metal mesh, and cement boards. To satisfy the architects’ preference for candor and clarity in the materials and the relationships among them, the thick layers of plaster on all the interior surfaces that were applied at various times are chiseled away. The original materials—cement and red bricks—have revealed themselves after a cleaning.

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   The architects had a fanciful idea for the conversion: to plant trees on the tops of the rows of silos on the original floor. In this way, plants, furniture, and human activity can be at the same height. In other words, indoor plants can grow directly on the floor. Sunshine from the high windows cast dappled shadows of leaves on the floor, and architects shuttle among the leaves and the play of light and shadows. They call it “a studio in a forest on top of the barley warehouse.”    The bar at the entrance is always the most relaxing place. After lunch, the sizzling steam and luscious aroma from the espresso machine turn the buzz up on the spot. People share ideas over delicious snacks. The open attic above the bar provides a place for naps in the afternoon and later in the evening. A smooth, black, hot-rolled steel mezzanine, whose surfaces have been processed to protect them, is quietly exposed and forms an intriguing contrast with the coarse gray of the cement, just like the clever pairing of the young studio and the old warehouse.

1

2

1 / The bar and upper space 2 / Axonometric drawing

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4 5

2

3

6

1 / External view of the architecture 2, 3 / Original look 4 / The semicircular balcony overlooking the river 5 / Lower plan 6 / Upper plan

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3 4

2

5 6

1, 3, 4 / Work space 2, 5 / Entrance 6 / Shelves for material samples

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LOCATION / Warehouse in Former Canton Brewery, No. 63 Xizeng Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province FLOOR AREA / 535 m2 DESIGN / O-Office Architects PROJECT MANAGERS / He Jianxiang, Jiang Ying

1

3

2

4 5

DATE OF DESIGN / April–September 2012

1 / Bar at the entrance

COMPLETED / March 2013

2 / Library at the end

TEXT / Jiang Ying

3, 4 / Section

PHOTOGRAPHY / Lin Liqin (LIKYFOTOS)

5 / Meeting room

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DAXI TEA FACTORY

Located on a hill near a lake, Cihu, in Daxi, Taiwan, the Daxi Tea Factory is a brick structure with a cypress frame built between 1895 and 1945, during the Japanese occupation. At the time, Taiwan exported enormous quantities of tea. The factory was renovated and expanded for the first time after 1945. The tea trade declined with the changes in the world economy, and the tea factory was abandoned.    As a response to the demands of the enormous export volumes of the time, the design and installation of fixtures in the original tea factory show much ingenuity but also an awareness for the health of the environment. At that time, tea processing began on the first floor, where conveyor belts moved fresh tea leaves to the second floor to be wilted indoors. Eight electric fans on both sides of the building circulated the air. Hot air from the dryers on the first floor rose to the second floor to speed up the evaporation of moisture from the tea leaves. The leaves were immediately disrupted as soon as the wilting was complete. The floor of the second floor was littered with holes, where machines for disrupting the leaves lay beneath. Sacks inside the holes let the leaves fall to the first floor, where they were kneaded, torn, dried, fixed, and sorted.    After the tea factory had been abandoned for almost a quarter of a century, a renovation and renewal project began in spring 2010. The project was spearheaded by Divooe Zein Architects. The concept included spaces for making tea, a restaurant, retail, a library on tea, a teahouse, and a multimedia room, transforming the abandoned tea factory into a fusion between the principles of natural agriculture and a travel destination concept.    The high ceilings of the original factory have been preserved intact. Taking into consideration the building’s aesthetics and function, the architects have also retained many other

original elements. For example, the 151-piece mesh of a truss on the second floor employs mortise-and-tenon joints and principles of mechanics to radiate a striking beauty. The mottled imprints of history peer from the rows of blue-gray vertical window bars, the cement floors worn smooth by countless footsteps, and even the stone walls and unfinished wooden beams and columns. The past has seeped into the soul of the building, which overflows with the history of a century.    For the designers, reconstructing a historical building ensconced between the old and the new and bestowing a new way of thinking on the space is a challenge to their abilities of selection. For example, the plants, vines, and roots climbing on the walls are the main culprits for ruining the structural waterproofing. At the same time, their wild beauty is a natural teacher of the spirit, infusing the space with the vitality of their slow aggression.    Tea calms the senses. Whether delicate or robust, it clears the mind and soothes the spirit. In this time and place, the spirit of tea is no longer one that emanates from the elegant utensils, orchids, and guqin of ancient times. Instead, the designers have chosen a bold, masculine style, which comports better with the cultural heritage of the site. With respect to the details, the designers have chosen a large variety of tea utensils, some coming from rural hardware stores, and others taking after northern European, IKEA-esque styles. These choices signal the common understanding and response to tea from both rural and urban dwellers. On the macro level, the designers have attempted to portray the possibility of a state of contradiction through matricial elements in the factory and enormous spaces and create an unusual, and at the same time extremely quotidian, space for tea culture.

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1

2

1 / Tea canister display shelf 2 / Site plan

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1 2 3 5

7 4 6

8

1 / Plan of F1 2 / Plan of F2 3 / Waterscape in the courtyard 4 / Washing zone 5 / Showroom 6 / Tea savoring space 7, 8 / Waterscape in the courtyard

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1 2

3

4 5

1, 2 / Tea fermentation area 3, 4 / Traces of the years left on the old tea factory 5 / Tea fermentation area

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2 1

3 4

5 1 / Exhibition area 2 / Multimedia tour guide space built with agricultural greenhouse plastic gauze 3, 4 / Showroom 5 / The wall of Puerh tea bricks

LOCATION / Daxi Mountains, Taoyuan, Taiwan, China SITE AREA / 12,000 m2 DESIGN / Divooe Zein Architects DESIGN TEAM / Zeng Zhiwei, Chen Liwei, Hu Ruyan, Guo Junting, Chen Sihan, Li Mingcun, Lin Fanyu DATE OF DESIGN / 2010–2012 COMPLETED / 2013 TEXT / Zeng Zhiwei PHOTOGRAPHY / Jetso Yu

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FOLDING SCREENS

The project is located on Liulichang West Street, Heping Gate, Beijing, one of the most well known streets for antiques, paintings, and calligraphy. Construction of the buildings here began around the 1980s under central government planning. The buildings are all two-floor reinforced concrete structures in premodern Chinese styles and have basements.    The designers drew their inspiration from folding screens, a type of classical Chinese furniture. Screens served important furnishing and decorative functions in premodern Chinese homes, with designs, images, and text that included an abundance of cultural information. Usually placed in prominent places in a room, folding screens divide spaces, beautify the surroundings, shield people from wind, and harmonize the different parts of a room. They complement other pieces of classical furniture, accentuate their elegance, and at the same time blend seamlessly into the setting. There is a sense of peace and concord. They separate spaces from one another, but the separations are never complete. The goal of the designers is precisely to create an Eastern, Zen-like, natural, and simple atmosphere and to maximize the interior space within the constraints of the existing column grids.    The design uses the display panels of the folding screen as the basic language for organizing the existing spaces. The fixed screens enclosing the first floor turn it into a boxy exhibition space that is open at the top and bottom, striking visitors with a distinctive first impression. The display panels on the second floor add flexibility and efficiency in the use of the space.    Many challenges arose during the process of executing the project. Because the plans and the related information for the

original building were missing and there were constraints on the schedule and sequence of construction (the completion of the building plans, budget approval, bidding, and determination of the actual details and logistics), the original building had not been demolished at the time the plans were completed. This resulted in gaps between the designed effects and the site conditions. Therefore, the designers needed to have a certain degree of flexibility and be ready to redesign in accordance with the site conditions and the workers’ skill levels to preserve continuity from design to finished product. For example, the stairs appeared to be made of dense concrete, but they turned out to be wood during construction. Based on the change, the designers instead used steel, an even lighter material. The treads are not attached directly to the steps beam, but are rather connected to each other with metal rods. The rods are as slender as possible to create a light, airy effect. This extremely unusual design could not be custom-made by a factory. The thickness of the steel treads, the dimensions of the steps beam, and the girth of the rods all had to be discussed continually with the workers at the site. A 1:1 model was even made to test the stability of the structure. In another example, the second floor was originally supposed to have a flat roof, but the rough, sloped roof structure was uncovered while it was being torn down. The architects immediately decided to expose part of the sloped roof in the interior space, adding height to the room and retaining the contrast between the original structure and the new design.    The Folding Screens project renders traditional art objects with modern spatial language, inviting participation and thereby conveying public values.

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1

1 / The staircase revealing the frame of the old roof

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1

3

2

4

1 / A view of the exhibition hall when the folding screens are unfolded 2 / Analysis graph 3 / Sectional view 4 / A view of the exhibition hall when the folding screens are folded

Original look of F2

Added screen display wall

Original look of F1

Added screen display wall

Original look of basement

New wall in the basement

Unfolded screen display wall

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2

3

1

1

Cashier

2

Exhibition hall

3

Indoor landscape

4

Machine room

5

Open office space

4

5

60

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1

Porch

2

Cashier

3

Exhibition hall

4

Chenxiang Hall

5

Indoor landscape

1 / Exhibition hall

6

Toilet

2 / Chenxiang Hall

7

Machine room

8

Storage

9

Open office space

5 / Plan of F2

10

Manager’s office

6 / Plan of basement

1 down

up

down

3 4

2

2 5

3 / Indoor view 3

6

1

3

4 / Plan of F1

4

LOCATION / Rongbaozhai, West Gallery, Liulichang, Beijing

up

PROJECT TYPE / Exhibition and conversion

7

FLOOR AREA / 400 m2 DATE OF DESIGN / December 2012–February 2013 DATE OF CONSTRUCTION / March–May 2013 DESIGN TEAM / Han Wenqiang, Cong Xiao, Kong Lin PHOTOGRAPHY / Wang Ning

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5 6

2 CULTURE

LONG MUSEUM WEST BUND JIXI MUSEUM SHUIJINGFANG MUSEUM IMPRESSIONISTIC JIANGNAN RED BRICK ART MUSEUM NANJING WANJINGYUAN GARDEN CHAPEL KINDERGARTEN IN SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOBILE CITY

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LONG MUSEUM WEST BUND

In the industrial era of the twentieth century, the West Bund building of the Long Museum was located at the coal docks and piers, whose traffic depended on the Huangpu River, the mother river of Shanghai. The potential relationship between the building and the industrial past of the site also dominates the concept of the new design. At the museum, the long coal hopper corridor—measuring 110 meters in length, 10 meters in width, and 8 meters in height—remaining from that past captivates every visitor. This structure originally had a single function: moving coal from the dock to a freight train via a conveyor belt and hopper. Today, it has become an object of singular fascination. The designers decided to use concrete to create an almost purely supportive structure.    This approach resulted in the recentering of the West Bund building’s appeal around open space and natural, unaffected thinking. The unique umbrella arch structures, made with cast-in-place fair-faced concrete, characterize the new building. This feature not only exudes a sense of physical protection for visitors, but also echoes the coal hopper that has been preserved at the river pier. A primitive, savage allure pervades the building’s interior. At the same time, the enormous spaces and fine, smooth surfaces draw on a sense of futurity. This is the goal of the design, to weave together vertical and horizontal chronologies. The juxtaposition of the old and the new is one with different chronologies. The outcome is an attractive urban space infused with history and memory.    The umbrella arches at times merge side by side into actual arches, vertically into semiarches, and in windmill formations to resemble cross vaults. None of these is an arch in a true struc-

tural sense, but they all evoke the image of Rome, where concrete arches first appeared. This connection may also relate to the building’s dimensions. The clear height in the interior of the hall on the ground floor is only 12 meters and its greatest span, 16 meters. But an inherent public character emanates from the space for three reasons: the roof is an extension of the fair-faced concrete walls, the starting point of the arch is deliberately elevated relative to the semiarch, and freestanding walls buttress the interior. People experience a fantastic sense of physical freedom in this space, which transcends the typical image of an art museum. As indicated by the architect Liu Yichun, an art museum should not only be an urban space, but also a part of urban life.    The public character of the West Bund building is also manifest in its departure from the standard enclosed, inward-looking art museum. The building provides space for research and training on art and the sale of artworks and has a bookstore, library, small concert hall, restaurant, and café, all open public spaces that invite the public’s participation. The idea is to reduce the distance between art and the public and incorporate art into people’s daily life. The design also extends these ancillary functions to the external spaces. The coal hopper space runs from a city street to the walkway at the waterfront, and an overpass connects the second-floor courtyard with the museum restaurant, and with the Binjiang elevated walkway. Even when the museum is closed, people can still walk through the museum and stand above the coal hopper. They can eat, sit, linger, and see ships snake around each other in the distant river and the moonlight flood the waves.

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1 / Umbrella arch structure

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1 / Southeast facade 2 / Model of the general plan 3 / Model of the indoor space

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F2 plan

F1 plan 1

Entrance

5

Image room

9

Temporary exhibition hall

13

Cargo lift

1

Contemporary art exhibition hall

2

Porch

6

Cloakroom

10

Art and design store

14

Coal hopper unloading bridge

2

Void

3

Store

7

Service room

11

Restaurant

15

Artwork by Xu Zhen: sportsground

3

VIP reception room

4

Contemporary art

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Void

12

VIP lounge

4

Café

Restaurant

8

Platform

12

Backstage

overlooking the river

9

Overpass

13

Coal hopper

6

Kitchen

10

Art and design store

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Courtyard

11

Multipurpose hall

5

unloading bridge

exhibition hall 19

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Contemporary art exhibition hall

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Gallery

12

Office

17

Tool room

22

Bicycle parking lot

1

Automobile parking garage

2

Ancient art exhibition hall

7

Lounge

13

Director’s office

18

Storage

23

Air-conditioning room

2

Air-conditioning room / ventilator room

3

Ancient / modern art

8

Storage of collections

14

Conference room

19

Sunken courtyard

24

Power transformation

3

Equipment room

exhibition hall (–1919)

9

Temporary storage

15

Conservation and

20

Security/fire

4

Modern art exhibition hall (1919–1949)

10

Unloading zone

5

Children’s painting exhibition hall

11

Reading room

control room

photography room 16

Library and archives

21

and distribution room 25

Equipment room

Parking garage

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1 / Entrance porch 2 / Passage linking the coal hopper unloading bridge and the main architecture 3 / Plan of F1 4 / Plan of F2 5 / Plan of B1 6 / Plan of B2 7 / Southern view from the porch by the main entrance

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Multipurpose hall

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Art and design store

2

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7

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3

Western restaurant

8

Storage of collections

4

Kitchen

9

Air-conditioning room

5

VIP lounge

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Automobile parking garage

B1F B2F

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Southwest-northeast section Automobile parking garage

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Contemporary art exhibition hall

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Office

2

Porch

7

Director’s office

3

Modern art exhibition hall (1919–1949)

8

Art and design store

1 / Staircase

4

Gallery

9

Storage of collections

2 / Main entrance

5

Modern art exhibition hall (1840–1919)

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Platform

3, 4 / Sections

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1 / Axonometric view of the structure 2 / Umbrella-shaped unit 3 / Contemporary art exhibition hall 4 / Umbrella arch structure

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Original structural flooring of the basement

2

Original B1 structural flooring

3

Original F1 structural main girder

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Added F1 structural flooring

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Aboveground air outlet

6

New concrete umbrella arches

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Wide space spray sprinkler

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LOCATION / 3398 Longteng Avenue, Xuhui District, Shanghai PROJECT AREA / 33,007 m2 SITE AREA / 19,337 m2 ARCHITECT / Deshaus (Liu Yichun, Chen Yifeng) ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM / Liu Yichun, Chen Yifeng, Wang Longhai, Wang Weishi, Wu Zhenghui, Wang Xuepei, Chen Kun STRUCTURAL, ELECTRICAL, AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING / Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co, Ltd. (TJAD) STRUCTURAL, ELECTRICAL, AND MECHANICAL DESIGN TEAM / Chao Si, Zhang Zhun, Shao Xiaojian, Shao Zhe, Zhang Ying, Shi You, Li Weijiang, Kuang Xingyu, Zhou Zhili LIGHTING DESIGN / Shanghai Guangyu Lighting Design Co., Ltd. GENERAL CONTRACTOR / Shanghai Xuhui Waterfront Development, Investment & Construction Co., Ltd. DATE OF DESIGN / November 2011–July 2012 COMPLETED / March 2014 PHOTOGRAPHY / Xia Zhi

1

2 4 3

5

1–4 / Contemporary art exhibition hall 5 / Ancient art exhibition hall and the sunken courtyard

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JIXI MUSEUM

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1 / Part of the south facade 2 / General plan 3 / An aerial view of Jixi Museum under construction in the ancient town

0 5 10

30 m

The Jixi Museum is located in the northern part of the old town of Jixi, Anhui. Its site was once the county courthouse that was later converted into the county administrative building complex. Today, because the entire old city has been included into the city’s preservation and renovation plan, the building has become a museum. The midsized local historical and cultural museum includes exhibition space, retail space, a 4-D movie theater, offices for audience services, administration, and storage.    The design of the building is based on Jixi’s geography and research on the origin of its name as well as Hui-style architecture and settlements. The building stands below an unbroken roof, whose undulating form and textures resemble the mountains and rivers around Jixi. It is the perfect interpretation of the form of Jixi: “The Ru Creek (xi) in the north lies about one li [a Chinese unit of length that equals 0.5 kilometer] from the Hui Creek. They flow apart and come together again, like twine being made into rope (ji).” (from Yuanhe Records of Prefectures and Counties, Tang dynasty). Gaihui, a local government’s renovation project, is under way to convert the surrounding area into a more uniform Hui-style cityscape. After the project is completed and the old city entirely restored, the building will integrate even more naturally into the rest of the city.

   To preserve as many of the existing trees on the site as possible, and in particular a 700-year-old pagoda tree, the complex includes several courtyards, atria, and passageways. The result is a coexistence of outdoor and indoor space and a reinterpretation of spatial design in Hui-style architecture. Two water channels on the east and west sides run along the streets and flow into a body of water in the large courtyard at the main entrance. The front plaza south of the building, or mingtang (“hall of brightness”), turns inward and is consistent with the typical layout of Hui-style residential architecture as well as the traditional Chinese idea of “rounding up the strengths of winds and waters” (fengshui). A group of stylized artificial hills face the main entrance. The three-dimensional scenic route, open to the public, leads visitors around the mingtang, the main entrance, and waterscape to the lookout at the southeastern corner of the complex. There, they can see the roof and the courtyard from above as well as the beautiful mountains in the distance.    The triangular unit of the building frame is marked by regularity in its assemblage. It takes its slope from local architecture and accommodates the undulations of the roof. Traditional local building techniques are used, and common local materials such as brick and tile are deftly exploited to give a sense of the contemporary world.

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Courtyard

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Preface hall

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Reception hall

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VIP hall

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Classroom

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Store

7

Ticket office

8

Tea pavilion

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County courtyard site

10

Exhibition hall

11

4D cinema

12

Temporary exhibition hall

13

Report hall

14

Equipment room

15

Fire control room

16

Technique and management room

17

Temporary storage

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Collection facility space

19

Lane

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3 1 / An aerial view of the night scene 2 / Zigzagging bridge in the main yard 3 / Plan of F1

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2 1 3 1 / Main courtyard 2 / “Gable courtyard” 3 / Courtyard with old trees

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10 m

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1–3 / Sections 4 / West facade 5 / South facade 6 / Corridor and trees conserved 7 / Rooftop viewing deck 8 / The “tiled window” and the stairs leading to the veranda

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1 3 2 1 / Inside the exhibition hall 2 / Inside the public hall 3 / Natural light pours into a gallery

LOCATION / Jixi, Anhui Province SITE AREA / 9,500 m2 FLOOR AREA / 10,003 m2 DESIGN TEAM / Li Xinggang, Zhang Yinxuan, Zhang Zhe, Xing Di, Yan Yu, Zhang Yiting, Yi Lingjie, Zhong Manlin STRUCTURAL DESIGN / Wang Libo, Yang Wei, Liang Wei LANDSCAPE DESIGN / Li Li, Yu Chao DATE OF DESIGN / November 2009–December 2010 COMPLETED / November 2013 PHOTOGRAPHY / Li Xinggang, Xia Zhi, Li Zhe

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SHUIJINGFANG MUSEUM

The Shuijingfang winery site is located on the south side of Shuijing Street, Jinjiang District, Chengdu, Sichuan, east of the confluence of the Fu and Nan rivers. It was originally Quanxing Winery’s plant for qujiu wine. In August 1998 Quanxing Winery was doing construction on its plant when it discovered a premodern winemaking site. Thereupon archaeologists from the Sichuan Museum determined the area of the site. The archaeological excavation yielded a large number of blue-and-white porcelain pieces. The mixing and fermentation rooms dated from the Ming and Qing dynasties and continued to be used in the modern era.    The discovery of the winery also revealed Ming and Qing wine-making processes from start to finish. The site suggests that wine was sold out in the front and made in the back. The mixing and fermentation rooms, cellars, and furnaces were in the back, while the passages next to the winery and the porcelain utensils were remnants of the wine store facing the street. After consultations with the government, related departments, and experts, the decision was made to build the Shuijingfang Museum and include the on-site manufacturing plant in the museum. The goals for the museum were to effectively protect the historical, cultural, and scientific heritage of the site for the long haul, as well as to pass on traditional wine-making techniques.    Jiakun Architects, which enjoys a great reputation among Chinese architects, led the design of the museum. The result adheres to the poise and plainness characteristic of the designs of the celebrated architect and founder of Jiakun Architects, Liu Jiakun, and illustrates Liu’s habitual attention to the cultural lineage of the site. The principles of sustainable design are taken into account. The dimensions of the museum are similar to those of the neighboring residential buildings, and the museum integrates seamlessly into the Shuijingfang historical and cultural district. The new building is laid out around the premodern winery, protecting and drawing attention to the older structures while folding them within itself.    A sign near the top of the wall facing the street identifies the complex as the Shuijingfang Museum. At one end, the vertical wall and the horizontal awning at the entrance meet with clean, simple lines. Slender, rectangular fair-faced concrete pil-

lars with inverted edges support the awning without a beam, exuding clarity, serenity, and confidence. At the other end, the original site of the winery has been preserved. The wall stands next to the city street, and the different shades of gray point directly to the disparity in the bricks’ age.    The new structures do not seek to unify the entire layout through the use of an especially memorable form in the style of a landmark. Rather, the structures are more diffuse and basically conform to the dimensions of the older architecture. Old and new come together on the streets of this historic district. The traditional streets and courtyards of western Sichuan have been quietly transformed into areas serving a variety of functions, including exhibition and meeting spaces, storage areas, new residential communities, and offices. They coexist in an unbroken line, but each keeps its individuality. The modern, the traditional, the old, the new, and the diverse spaces, materials, and structures fit together in harmony and without fanfare. There is no strident attempt to express anything in particular. In this unique area, surrounded by hulking mammoths, restraint may be the best strategy.    The architects paid close attention to the selection of materials and construction methods, seeking to express through them an attitude toward design. They did not simply imitate the typical elements in traditional western Sichuan architecture, such as indigo tiles, green-gray bricks, and wooden windows and doors; rather, they adapted these materials to modern times. The essence of tradition dissolves naturally into fairly modern forms. The Shuijingfang Museum is also the first example of the use of recycled bricks to build an entire structure. The red and brown flecks add detail to the gray-black bricks, which are laid as walls and outside paving to set the tone. Several important points in the walls are left as rough surfaces of broken bricks, while other walls are generally smooth, machine-cut surfaces. The different textures coexist intimately and form surfaces with varying gradients. In addition to recycled bricks, slate slabs, strand-woven bamboo, concrete, and other materials represent the architectural elements of traditional homes unobtrusively, as if telling stories from the past with the language of today.

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LOCATION / No. 17–23 Shuijin Street, Jinjiang District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province SITE AREA / 12,148 m² FLOOR AREA / 8,670 m² DESIGNER / Jiakun Architects LEAD DESIGNER / Liu Jiakun DESIGN TEAM / Cai Kefei, Hua Yi, Yang Dong STRUCTURE / Steel and concrete frame BUILDING MATERIALS / Recycled brick, anticorrosive heavy bamboo DATE OF DESIGN / August 2008–September 2011 COMPLETED / April 2013 TEXT / Yin Shi PHOTOGRAPHY / Arch-Exist

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IMPRESSIONISTIC JIANGNAN

Nanjing’s Old South Town refers to the southernmost area of the old city of Nanjing within the Ming-era city walls. The Inner Qinhuai River flows through the area on its way from Dongshui Pass to Shuixi Gate. This area, not separated from but rather integrated with the city landscapes that have been constantly renewed with new buildings, emanates a sense of the layers of time and time’s push forward. Here, you can observe the architecture and personalities from different periods in the history of Nanjing. This authentic and eclectic mix-and-match style infuses these grounds with the pulse of history. But not long ago, change arrived quietly in the area.    A blue-gray metal structure arose with little fanfare in the ocean of the layers of staggered gray-tiled roofs. This is the “One Academy, Two Museums” complex converted from the Nanjing Dyed Textile Mill, which includes three connected buildings: the Jinling Art Museum, the Nanjing Academy of Calligraphy and Painting, and the Old South Town Museum of Memory. Each uses a different building of the original mill.    In contrast to the overall tone of Old South Town, this structure exudes modernity. The gunmetal main structure’s glimmer of silver, sharply drawn lines, and transparent exterior stand out in the stifling opacity of the surrounding older structures. Liu Kecheng, the architect, comes from Xi’an. “This art museum is in fact a northerner’s impression of the Jiangnan region, an impressionistic Jiangnan,” he said. “There are countless interpretations of Jiangnan. People from Suzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, and other places all have their own impressions of the region. My own impression is probably closer to Mr. Wu Guanzhong’s abstract ink wash paintings. In essence, it consists of a black, white, and gray texture, measure, or impression under a blue sky.” 1    Before the conversion, the dilapidated Nanjing Dyed Textile Mill stuck out like a sore thumb in the historical district. During the conversion, the architects focused on the integration of its industrial aspects into the surrounding history and culture. Liu Kecheng said, “After the site visit, we decided that the southernmost sawtooth-shaped factory building did not need to be converted. Rather, our efforts should focus on the three or four buildings on the north side. With inspiration from the Jinling school of ink wash paintings, we discovered that the

most fundamental elements in Jiangnan culture have the feel of the old, meandering streets and alleys near Lao Mendong that seemed to go on without end. A seeker’s spirit pervades it.” 2    Against the backdrop of Old South Town’s local culture, Liu Kecheng abandoned the strategy of a traditional Jiangnan, with its green-gray bricks and gray tiles, in favor of a new “archaeological” strategy. The use of perforated metal panels, a modern industrial material, has produced new architectural languages and forms and also articulated the features of architecture as archaeology. Liu Kecheng said, “The existing factory buildings represent the history of industry in Nanjing. In our design, we cannot deliberately ignore modern civilization either. In fact, I have been searching for a way to communicate with historical buildings by using modern techniques. Materials like metal panels are not part of the historical district and are therefore modern. At the same time, the texture and scale that they create draw from an analysis of the historical district.”    Metal panels are a very expressive material. The architects used panels in two different colors, one deep and the other light, and coated the surfaces with reflective substances. These mirror-like surfaces look different on sunny, cloudy, and rainy days, as well as when the sun moves throughout the day. This changing surface forms a rich, dynamic relationship with the historical district, harmonizes the relationship between the old industrial buildings and the ancient architecture in Old South Town, and triggers a translucent relationship between transparency and opacity and between transparency and translucence. From a distance, the varying tones of the surface produce the colors of gray, black, and white, which resemble abstract bricks, tiles, and streets. At the same time, the complex embodies the rolling, meandering feeling in Jiangnan culture. When viewed in the context of the historical district, it seems as if the old streets and alleys all snake their way to the new building complex.

1 Mr. Wu Guanzhong was a world-renowned contemporary Chinese painter and art educator. His artworks integrate the techniques of Western paintings with a spirit that is typically Chinese. 2 “Lao Mendong” refers to the area on the east side of the Zhonghua Gate, where most of the ancient buildings, especially those from the Qing dynasty, can be found. This area borders the eastern wall of Zhonghua Gate on the south, the eastern bank of Qinhuai River on the west, Changle Road on the north and Gutong Alley on the east, covering an area of about 16.8 hectares. It is one of the few districts with a living historical impression of the old city of Nanjing.

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LOCATION / No. 50 Jianzi Alley, Qinhuai District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province BUILDING FUNCTIONS / Exhibition, administrative, artistic production SITE AREA / 4,424 m2 FLOOR AREA / 12,974 m2 LEAD DESIGNERS / Liu Kecheng, Xiao Li ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM / Pei Zhao, Wu Chao, Tong Qingnan, Wang Wentao, Yuan Fang, Lin Xiaodan, Dong Jing, Yang Dun DATE OF DESIGN / October 2011 COMPLETED / October 2013 TEXT / Xu Mingyi PHOTOGRAPHY / Courtesy of Liu Kecheng Studio

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RED BRICK ART MUSEUM

Located in the Beijing International Art Park in the Chaoyang District, Red Brick Art Museum is the landmark building in the region. It was designed by Dong Yugan, the famous architect and professor of Peking University Architecture Research Center. It was officially opened to the public in May 2014.    The Red Brick Art Museum consists of a 6,000-square-meter floor area and an 8,000-square-meter landscaped courtyard. The main building has eight exhibition galleries above ground level, including three recreational spaces for children and other public educational activities; a reception hall; an art derivatives space; and a basement floor with three screening rooms for video works (Data Forum Gallery). The courtyard comprises supporting facilities, such as seminar rooms, restaurants, cafés, and a museum members club.    The architect’s design strategy was to integrate the museum with the surroundings. Developed from the existing cultural landscape, red bricks are employed as the essential architectural element, and supplemented by the green tiles used in some parts of the buildings. This design is to create a contemporary garden-style museum, a synthesis of architecture and landscape. The designs of the Red Brick Museum, which has unique structures and expressions, are unfolded in three aspects: first, based on the traditional Chinese aesthetic concept of clever ingenuity, the original humble greenhouse space is transformed into an exhibition gallery densely populated with artistic imagery; second, to diversify the monotonous modern landscape design, a garden scheme that is feasible, pleasant, intimate, and recreational is attempted by borrowing the time-honored practice of a Chinese garden city; finally, the courtyard, serving as a transitional space between the enclosed

museum and the northern forested area, aims to faithfully represent scenes of everyday living and to incorporate the northern and southern areas.    The original building is unsophisticated and huge, of which the exterior wall posed the greatest challenge to the architects in this renovation project. The evenly distributed 6-meters-tall openings on the wall facing the street had caused horrendous erosion of the interior wall. Although the simple steel roof and skylights let in an abundance of natural light, a bright space with direct sunlight and its accompanying shadows is the opposite of a standard exhibition hall, which requires an enclosed background and even lighting. To meet the developer’s request for a spacious exhibition hall and to ensure a proper distance between the exhibit display and viewers, the architects resorted to an interior wall that functions like a folding screen. By weaving the interior wall among the existing openings, the area of the display wall is doubled and the triangular areas between the partitions are well lit by natural light.    The gray-tone corridor of the museum entrance provides a gentle transition from the outside to the inside. At the center of the entrance a piece of toughened glass is installed between the 600-millimeter-thick brick walls; against the dimmer interior space, it greets visitors with their own reflections. When the automatic door slowly opens, an entirely different and soothing space is revealed. This sacred and solemn tone lays the groundwork for the museum, facilitating a peaceful and engaging aesthetic experience right at the starting point of the visit.    Approved as a renovation project, the structure, with a clear height of 9 meters, can only be expanded above or below the existing space. Due to the limitations of various conditions,

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two final results of the spatial expansion are a 1-meter-tall beam surface above the ground and a 3-meter-tall underground space. In the middle of the main hall is a circular sunken space, which can be used as an auditorium. The two-story-tall space increases the vertical depth of the building as well as corresponds to a Chinese-style courtyard. The other side of this spacious sunken lecture hall is designed in imitation of a Greek amphitheater; the architects created cascading blocks of audience seats by varying the height of the huge step-platforms; a small square loft at eye level, supposedly the staircase landing by the mezzanine, is actually a small exhibition hall. Between the display wall of this exhibition hall and the elevated floor level is an open seam, which is a deliberate design to provide a glimpse into the bottom half of another exhibition hall, intending to arouse viewers’ curiosity and encourage them to further explore the museum.    The landscaped courtyard serves as a transition between the art museum and the northern garden area. The plot is long

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and narrow and has to accommodate a 4-meter-wide firefighting access and a 12-square-meter turnaround area in compliance with technical regulations. The architects fashioned the square turnaround area into a patio, planted with numerous trees and bushes as against usual turnaround areas that feature little vegetation. To shield the neon light interference from a neighboring villa, an elongated structure was built in the middle section of this courtyard; this building has the typical basilica plan of a Christian church on the east side and a brick screen wall punctuated with a cross pattern on the west side, hence the nickname “miniature Vatican.”    In the Red Brick Art Museum, visitors can enjoy not only the indoor exhibition but also the diverse outdoor scenes. Different from a traditional museum, the unique architectural language and innovative landscape of this museum offer a wide range of possibilities for the creation, exchange, and presentation of contemporary art and culture.

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LOCATION / International Art Park, Chaoyang District, Beijing SITE AREA / 3,900 m2 FLOOR AREA / 6,000 m2 ARCHITECT / Dong Yugan DESIGN TEAM / Dong Yugan, Xiao Ang (Dulin International Design Firm, construction plan cooperation) INTERIOR DESIGN / Dong Yugan, Yan Shijie, Cao Mei DATE OF DESIGN / 2007 COMPLETED / 2012 PHOTOGRAPHY / Wan Lu

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NANJING WANJINGYUAN GARDEN CHAPEL

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In designing churches, architects have traditionally employed enormous dimensions to create a sense of distance and the feeling of a sacred presence. The use of this technique peaked in Gothic churches. But this kind of solemnity and propriety no longer characterizes modern churches. Many great architects have earned their fame through their original designs of churches, such as Le Corbusier with the Notre Dame du Haut, in France; Alvar Aalto with the Church of the Three Crosses in Finland; and Tadao Ando and the Church of the Light in Japan. Most of these are not constricted by the habitual forms of traditional churches; rather, they focus on fostering a spiritual atmosphere.    The Nanjing architect Zhang Lei has designed a chapel brimming with warmth in Hexi New City, Nanjing. This modern chapel did not use the traditional technique of scale to evoke awe; here, religion is a wellspring that nourishes the soul and initiates a new dialogue on the basis of equality. Located at Binjiang Park on the Yangtze River Avenue in Nanjing, it exudes delicacy and refinement from all of its 200 square meters. The symmetrical roof in the form of a butterfly consists of two joined triangular facades. The vertical wooden grille is almost the only element in the facade and gives the chapel an extremely clean, simple appearance. The black wooden tiles on the roof add grace and texture. Their reflections in the water emphasize an inward-looking serenity. At present, the chapel is managed by ministers from the Nanjing Union Theological Seminary and offers religious services for worship and weddings.    The chapel’s originator, Zhang Lei, is among the first experimental architects in China. Through the years, his designs

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have always been marked by a distinctive personal signature. They express the geometric and the nongeometric, intensity and weakness, clarity and ambiguity—expressions of opposites in integrated forms. “I call this kind of contradiction and integration ‘a simple complexity’ and ‘a familiar strangeness,’” says Zhang Lei. “It looks very simple, but actually holds a wealth of nuanced meaning; and its seeming familiarity disguises a degree of mystery. This is a very Eastern way of thinking. Western thought emphasizes reason, and everything is black and white. But Eastern thought can express contradictions with a single integrated form.”    The schedule for building the Nanjing Wanjingyuan Garden Chapel was only forty-five days, which was an anomaly in the history of construction. With such a tight construction schedule and a limited budget, Zhang Lei opted for a light construction strategy, which for him was the simplest and the most intuitive solution. “The best approach is to filter out anything complicated, respond to complex requirements in the simplest way possible, and be direct.” The clearly veined steel-and-wood folded plate roof coupled with light—an inexpensive material— adds expressiveness to the dynamism- and tension-filled space. Space and light are also the centers of attention in the all-white interior. Outside, the wooden grille and asphalt-shingled roof retain their original colors and simply await the branding of time. There, nature occupies the place of honor.    The wooden grille that sheathes the structure is evidently the most striking element in the structure, as well as the one on which the architects spent the most time and effort. The

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surface of the wooden grille seems to be an overcoat for the building and creates a light, textured, and cheerful effect. This steel-and-wood tensile structure has extremely simple materials and installations. The texture of the delicate wooden panels resembles that of brocade, and their weight-bearing capacity exceeds what one would expect from the ordinary experience of similar panels. The longest panels are 12 meters in length, and their cross sections measure only 38 × 89 millimeters. They are fastened on both ends to the roof and the ground with metal parts and are kept in a state of tensile stress, for which wood is well adapted (the stress is also critical for increasing the stability of the lightweight roof). Discreet U-shaped metal fasteners join the panels of the grille, making the structure more secure and the assembly of its components more precise.    It is obvious that Zhang Lei would not be satisfied with an abstract and static box. He eschews any superficial haziness. Rather, he prefers to disguise restraint and mystery in casual gestures, and the result is a complex ambiguity. While maintaining the purity of the chapel space, he also executes a stunning but straightforward move: the extension of the hidden diagonal on the plane to the roof. This kind of extension occurs once in the lowering of the north–south diagonal from above and a second time in the rise of the east–west diagonal from below. They meet to form an inclined plane at one-third of the height of the building. The result is an exquisite folded-plate roof reflecting the seamless integration of space, force, and matter.    In Christian theology, light represents Jesus. Churches towering at colossal heights are thus not the only ones that see favor in the eyes of God. In his design, Zhang Lei aban-

doned soaring towers in favor of light as the essence of theology. Zhang Lei explained, “Light is an important thematic element for expressing the power of faith in this chapel.”    This nontraditional, modernist chapel is simple and sprightly. The wooden structure of the building reflects directly into the interior. At the same time, the holiest color—white— is used throughout. The symmetrical form and the sense of rhythm brought about by slight variations engender an aesthetic of the sacred. The unique winding corridor is the highlight of the entire design. This corridor organizes the traffic among the various functional spaces and, more importantly, creates a two-layer shell around the main sanctuary. For the design team, the serene SPF grille of the outer shell acts as a filter for the landscape outside and signals the beginning of the religious experience within. The sealed inner shell emphasizes the purity of the band of light that has been specially designed to fall through the chapel roof and onto the wall at the altar.    In this chapel, light is condensed to its essence. Like divine inspiration, it beams precisely through a slit in the roof to the center of the seating area in the sanctuary below. Natural light also seeps carefully and gently through the grille into an opening in the sealed sanctuary wall, illuminating the fine textures in the roof without drawing attention to itself. Artificial lights not only meet basic lighting needs, but—as guided by the principle of their placement—also turn the wooden roof into a reflective surface. Because of these artificial lights, the wingshaped folded-plate roof seems to be a light-emitting object with fantastic texture, whether viewed from within or without, which spreads light throughout the entire chapel.

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LOCATION / Nanjing, Jiangsu Province AREA / 200 m2 DESIGNER / AZL Architects PROJECT ASSOCIATE / ADINJU ARCHITECT / Zhang Lei DESIGN TEAM / Zhang Lei, Wang Ying, Jin Xin, Cao Yongshan, Hang Xiaomeng, Huang Longhui DATE OF DESIGN / 2014 COMPLETED / July 31, 2014 TEXT / Xu Mingyi PHOTOGRAPHY / Yao Li

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KINDERGARTEN IN SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOBILE CITY Anting town, located in the northwest suburbs of Shanghai, is an integrated industrial city featuring automobile production and auto-related industries. As an education project supporting Shanghai International Automobile City, the Eastern Ruishi Kindergarten is located in an irregular triangular plot among two streets and a river and surrounded by elite residential areas, R&D institutions, and a golf resort. A path connecting the eastern and western residential areas on both sides of the river runs through the northern part of the project area.    The relatively spacious site granted the designers an opportunity to explore the scheme of a two-story kindergarten with more outdoor space, which is different from the conventional three-story kindergarten building in China. According to the architect Zhang Bin, “This is to take the full advantage of the site condition, as well as to explore ways to structure a bigger space for the young children to interact with nature independently and easily. At the same time, opposite from the living experience in a box-like space—a spatial experience that the kindergarteners share with the contemporary urban population in China—we want to facilitate an internal perception that is closer to humans’ primal living experience and spatial prototype. We would like to provide the children with an inspiring environment that could foster their imagination.”    All the day care classrooms, administrative offices, logistics services, and other facilities are located in the two-story, L-shaped volume along the streets on the east and south sides. The main entrance is off the street on the east side, with a recessed forecourt covered by a glass canopy and planted with trees as a transitional space to the lobby. The ground level inside the L-shaped volume is connected by a wide and winding hallway; the south wing is lined up with five preschool classrooms, each with individual space for class activities, while at the west end a vaulted space is connected to a group activity room. The office suite is located at the southeast corner with a private courtyard; and logistics services are in the northern section of the east wing.    The ground level serves as the base for the entire L-shaped mass, on which ten preschool classrooms are distributed on the second level. These ten classrooms are arranged in five double units: the three units on the south wing are in a compact arrangement and are connected by a winding short gallery; the two units on the east wing sit at each end of a north–south long corridor; between the units are green roofs or open terraces. The roof garden above the office suite bridges the second level of the east and south wings. Each classroom unit is under an M-shaped roof with skylights; the air-conditioning and mechanical platform are inte-

grated inside the roof on the north side. This special design creates a loft and brightens the classroom and hallway spaces. Each set of M-shaped roofs corresponds to the activity area, bedroom, or washroom in the classroom; it is to facilitate a special experience in watching different skies and other rooftops through the skylights under the roof of a spacious classroom. The designers explain that this experience is related to the sense of security derived from habitats or the protection of a roof, an environment in which we have maximum assurance and control. Again, this experience is also related to the aspiration for freedom and interaction based on the sense of security after human settlement was formalized; such an experience will inspire children to explore and to discover the surroundings. It is like our body can be settled in a place, while our thoughts can elevate to a higher level to examine our physical forms.    The architectural structures of the communal space, including the indoor swimming pool, multipurpose room, and six seminar rooms, comprise three single-story and relatively airy volumes that extend from the principal building toward the river. Among these volumes, their periphery, and the bordering river are a series of eco-landscaped gardens. The three volumes are different in height and have different green roof designs. For example, the rooftop of the building that has the indoor swimming pool is a tall, dream-like “house” covered by perforated translucent aluminum siding, which echoes the style of the principal two-story volume. The interior is furnished with inflated cloud-shaped balloons, outdoor play sets, and large potted plants in order to make the place an imaginary castle with a touch of fantasy. The designers call it the “castle in the sky.” This riverside area, either the ground space or rooftop, indoors or outdoors, constitutes a beautiful space that not only fosters people’s interaction but also buffers disturbance from traffic.    The facade of the L-shaped principal volume has a light background composed of a silver-gray metal roof and painted walls; the various tall window bands for horizontal visual effects and the color treatment around the recessed windows thus dominate the perception. As for those areas that hold communal activities, the vertical windows and the perforated aluminum wall panels between the colored windows collectively create a fluid and soft effect that blurs the boundary between the architectural volume and the surrounding landscape; the imaginative and playful “castle in the sky” is the spatial focus in the riverside area. The interior walls and ceilings continue the light color treatment, while the maple surface finishes and cabinets enhance a sense of warmth in the space.

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LOCATION / North of Boyan Road, West of Anyan Road, Anting Town, Jiading District, Shanghai BUILDING FUNCTION / Fifteen day care classrooms PROJECT AREA / 11,050 m2 CONSTRUCTION AREA / 4,085 m2 FLOOR AREA / 6,342 m2 DESIGNER / Zhi Zheng Architecture Studio ARCHITECTS / Zhou Yu, Zhang Bin DESIGN TEAM / Yuan Yi, Meng Hao, Li Zina, Wang Jiaqi COLLABORATION DESIGN / Shanghai Jiangnan Architectural Design Institute Co., Ltd. DEVELOPMENT UNIT / Shanghai International Automobile City (Group) Co., Ltd. CONSTRUCTION UNIT / Shanghai Wan Hang Building Decoration Co., Ltd., Hai Hao Cheng Decoration Co., Ltd. DATE OF DESIGN / April 2011–March 2013 COMPLETED / August 2013 STRUCTURE / reinforced concrete frame structure (local steel structure) MATERIALS / Glass, aluminum, steel, plastic board PHOTOGRAPHY / Zhi Zheng Architecture Studio

3 HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS

THE MOUNTAIN RESIDENCE BY THE WATERSIDE PLACID MOGAN RETREATS XIANGXIANGXIANG BOUTIQUE CONTAINER HOTEL MERCATO AT THREE ON THE BUND PUSU RESTAURANT TEPPANYAKI XIANG RESTAURANT BAMBOO COURTYARD TEAHOUSE

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THE MOUNTAIN RESIDENCE BY THE WATERSIDE

At the foot of Xiangshan Mountain and down the Dujiapu Stream, the reception center at the Xiangshan Campus of the China Academy of Art is nestled among gurgling streams and lavish vegetation. The residence is located on the original site of a former popular restaurant. Because of a waterfront spacious courtyard, the restaurant was poetically named The Waterside; thanks to this, the current building inherits the key word waterside and is named The Mountain Residence by the Waterside.    Above the river is the view of an extensive 100-meter-long roof covered in gray tiles, a signature image of The Mountain Residence by the Waterside. In the design process, Wang Shu, the designer, used to call this building “Washan” (Tile Mountain), which indicated the importance of tile as an architectural element in this building. At the 2006 Venice Biennale, Wang Shu installed Tiled Garden to illustrate his thoughts on traditional architecture. At that time, he followed the tile works specified in the Treatise on Architectural Methods, creating a sloping roof that was structured in bamboo and covered with more than sixty thousand pieces of reclaimed tiles.1 On the roof he designed a walking path for people to have a close-up appreciation of the profound historical implication contained in these Chinese tiles. In a closer examination on the Tile Mountain, the roof form, the cascading layers of reused tiles in great quantity, and the walking path on the rooftop seamlessly and intimately link the Mountain Residence to the ancient tile garden, which epitomizes the designer’s incessant contemplation, exploration, and practice of traditional architecture in the contemporary context.    Wang Shu also pays close attention to rammed earth structure. As a result, rammed earth is another important element of the Mountain Residence by the Waterside. Unlike other building materials, rammed earth, largely used in rural construction, is reusable, a feature that coincides with the idea of the eternal in Taoist tradition: coming around and starting again, in endless succession. The rammed earth used in the Mountain Residence was taken from the foundation excavation. Even if someday in the future the building needs reconstruction or demolition, the rammed earth can be reutilized, which embodies the simple pursuit and an intuitive understanding of sustain-

ability embedded in Chinese traditional building techniques. Besides, rammed earth is in itself a natural building material with no added chemicals, such as lime. As taken from the earth, it is also returned to Mother Nature without troubling or polluting the environment. Thus, the choice of rammed earth also indicates that the designers are highly sensitive and responsible to environmental issues.    The designers set up a number of visual and movement passages for visitors to enjoy the residence. Following the visual passages, one can enjoy the waterfront or outdoor scenery; the verdant Xiangshan Mountain beyond the houses to the north; a corner of the Xiangshan campus to the south; and the interior arrangement of the residence, such as the rhythmic layers of partition walls in an east–west orientation. Or one can personally experience the setting through three movement passages: by walking through the entire property of the residence along the river; by taking the elevated path, with staircases leading up and down to the valleys or terraces; and by the most intriguing path—the long and winding corridor built on the rooftop, where one can have a panoramic view of the site.    The aged gray tiles, the heavy timber roof truss, the thick walls of rammed earth, the clean cement and some slender bamboo strips—all these materials in the designer’s skillful deployment are in the right place, serve the desired purpose, and demonstrate their respective natures. In addition, when incorporated with the standing spectators or passers-by, a harmony between the sky, Earth, and mankind is established. The Mountain Residence by the Waterside is a review, reexamining traditional materials and construction techniques. It is also a summary and a quest; through the process of design, construction, and implementation, it explores the possibilities of integrating architecture with nature as well as traditional aesthetics with contemporary building systems.

1 Treatise on Architectural Methods (Yingzao Fashi), compiled by Li Jie of the Song dynasty, is China’s first official writing that goes into great detail about architectural engineering. The book introduces standard building techniques and specifies the requirements upon the design, materials, structure, and component ratio for the building.

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LOCATION / Hangzhou, Zhejiang province PROJECT AREA / 7,500 m2 FLOOR AREA / 6,200 m2 DESIGN / Amateur Architecture Studio ARCHITECTS / Wang Shu, Lu Wenyu STRUCTURE / Reinforced concrete frame with local steel structure, rammed earth retaining wall, wood structure MATERIALS / Bamboo plastic template concrete, recycled tiles and tank pieces, raw wood, pine DATE OF DESIGN / 2005–2013 COMPLETED / 2013 TEXT / Zhu Xiaoli PHOTOGRAPHY / Zhang Guangyuan

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PLACID MOGAN RETREATS

The Placid Mogan Retreats are located on the side of a country road on the north shore of a creek by the northern foothills of Mount Mogan, Deqing County, Zhejiang. With a tea garden lying to the north, they face a bamboo forest to the south. The owner wanted to build a peaceful, restful oasis here through a combination of building design, interior design, and landscape design. The approximately 3-mu site measures 120 meters from east to west and only 23 meters at most from north to south. The difference in elevation between the east, which is the lower end, and the west is almost 3 meters. The elementary school for Xibei Village used to occupy this location, with a row of single-story, double-pitch-roofed classrooms of brick and wood standing on the north side, an open area used for various activities in the south, and the entrance in the east.    Though mountainous, northern Zhejiang has in fact a gentle, moderate landscape, with a temperate, humid climate that brings frequent rains and sustains vast areas covered by lush flora, in particular thriving bamboo forests. The architecture has to respond to this environment. First, the design sought to retain the rather clever original layout of the village school, putting the buildings in a row along the north and preserving as much as possible the outdoor space facing the south. The design also left the entrance in the east. With its lower elevation, this spot leads conveniently to the roads outside. But the functions of a hotel are more diverse than those of a school. Therefore, the designers divided a single building lengthwise into five stand-alone structures, put distance between them, and spread them out near the northern edge of the site. The idea was to meet the various functional needs of the complex and dilute the buildings’ sense of heft. The result is density in the north and sparseness in the south. To add complexity to the outer grounds, the design moved one of the five stand-alone structures to the south side of the site to obtain two outdoor spaces, one in the north and one in the south, with entirely different personalities. The transplanted stand-alone structure is also rotated by 90 degrees to give more depth to the northern space and a more spirited facade of a cornice, as opposed to that of a wall, as the end view from the southern space.

   All five stand-alone structures are built with green-gray brick and have black-tiled, double-pitched roofs. The slope of the roofs is based on the structural requirements of tiled roofs, snow accumulation in the winter, and an awareness of the forms of the surrounding mountains. The structures, from east to west, serve as the office and reception area, the dining room, standard guest rooms, and two stand-alone guest suites. The gradual transition from the public to the private corresponds to the gradual rise in the site’s elevation. The landscape designer rearranged the outdoor spaces in the north and the south. The main section of the southern space, which faces the valley and the bamboo forest, is relatively open and regular-shaped and is turned into the outdoor space for the public areas in the front. The territoriality and privacy of the standard guest rooms, located also at the side of the southern space, are strengthened by the addition of indoor gardens. The two stand-alone suites at the back share the peaceful north courtyard, but each also has its own south-facing courtyard.    Ventilation is crucial in the humidity of the mountains, especially in the summer. Although the north-south overall layout of the buildings already helps natural ventilation, ventilating each guest room on both the north and the south sides is still a big challenge with respect to the connected guest rooms (as opposed to the stand-alone suites).    First, in terms of the linear organization, the traditional layout, with a level hallway outside the rooms, had to be modified so that each room on the second floor can have windows in the north and south as well as privacy. A level hallway on either the north or the south sides would cause serious disturbance to these rooms. One solution is to use a hallway but increase the differences in elevation: the line of movement outside room entrances is lowered to reduce distractions at the windows; this lower area also becomes a semiprivate shared space. This solution is suitable for structures with a large area on the ground floor, where one must enter the guest rooms on the second floor from the north. The other situation involves a structure where there are guest rooms on both floors. In that case, the response is to install a vertical connection to the side of the guest rooms

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so that one can reach the second-floor rooms via the east–west way, which also insulates them from disturbances to the north and south. The landing in the vertical connection is the ceiling of the bathroom in one of the ground-floor guest rooms, and the difference in elevation creates an interesting exterior space. Besides the management of building traffic, experimental techniques in interior design also make sure the rooms are ventilated. For example, the traditional separate bathroom is abandoned in favor of an open design, with furniture, lighting, and other fixtures as partitions. Functional needs are met, and air circulates well in the rooms.    The designers also experimented with new techniques, which differ from local techniques, in the use of artisanal materials like green-gray bricks and small tiles. For example, a bricklaying technique closer to that of residential construction, as opposed to one designed to impress, is used in the joining of the doors and windows in the facade. In this way, the brick walls’ large surfaces impart a feeling of small dimensions, and the lower edge of each door and window meets the brick with a precision that seals the windowsills and door thresholds from water.    A more humanistic approach is taken in the use of industrial materials like concrete. For example, an artist’s studio is set up inside a room protruding from the southeastern corner of the office and reception area. Near the end of the construction process, a large number of pine boards used for securing the formwork were left over. They had widths of between 7 and 8 centimeters and were about to be thrown out. The designers treated the surfaces of these pine boards and made them into

part of the new formwork that became the walls and the ceiling of the artist’s studio. The veins of the wood were stamped into the concrete, giving it expression, and the boards themselves gained a new life.    In addition to the unusual techniques that were necessary to meet the various functional requirements, there is actually an even greater number of approaches that simply follow tradition. This is true especially in the interior and landscape designs. A basic principle in the interior design is an emphasis on materiality to intensify the spatial characteristics of the buildings. Examples include cast-in-place concrete ceilings with exposed frames, grass-based plaster on the interior walls, recycled wood floors, “golden” bricks fired in local kilns, and a handmade wooden staircase. In the landscape design, local materials and construction techniques, such as stone retaining walls and handmade bamboo fences, are highlighted. Indigenous flora take up residence in the gardens to keep the ecology between the area of the retreats and the surrounding environment as balanced as possible.    After construction was completed, a graduate of the pre1979 Xibei Village elementary school came back to visit. She had since moved to the city. When she heard about the conversion of the old classrooms, she was worried that the project would turn them into monstrosities and came back to take a look. After seeing the construction, she commented, “It looks very much like the old elementary school. The classrooms and the playground are still pretty much in their places. The buildings look great, not like those in the city.”

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LOCATION / Nanlu Village, Mount Mogan Town, Deqing County, Zhejiang Province FLOOR AREA / 1,055 m2 BUILDING DESIGN / Kong Rui, Fan Beilei (Genarchitects) INTERIOR DESIGN / Jia Shaojie (Placid Mogan) LANDSCAPE DESIGN / Wang Xuanpeng (Placid Mogan) CONSTRUCTION / Placid Mogan MATERIALS / Gray-green bricks, black tile, fair-faced concrete shaped in wooden molds, rubble, “golden” bricks (large slab-like bricks made of clay), and grass-based mortar DATE OF DESIGN / November 2011–June 2012 DATE OF CONSTRUCTION / June 2012–May 2013 TEXT / Kong Rui PHOTOGRAPHY / Hou Bowen

154

XIANGXIANGXIANG BOUTIQUE CONTAINER HOTEL Centered around the theme of xiang (incense, fragrance), the Xiangxiangxiang Boutique Container Hotel is the first boutique hotel built with converted freight containers. It is located in the southwest of the Chenghuang tourist district in Tianxiadou, Changzhi County, and forms part of the community of major tourism service providers in the district. The hotel has a total area of about 5,000 square meters.    The unique experience of staying at the Xiangxiangxiang Boutique Container Hotel features the emblematic outer appearance of the containers, the comfortable and classic new Chinese-style interior and furniture design, the views in the courtyards, and the facing views of the Tianxiadou Chenghuang Temple.   Xiang is a character filled with good, beautiful connotations. Since ancient times, it has been associated with good fortune, wealth, harmonious relationships with others, and other blessings of a good life. In the past, Taoists encouraged using natural incenses as offerings to the gods. Their fragrances were said to reach the heavens and the earth, to allow people to communicate with the gods, and to ensure good fortune in this life and the afterlife. Fragrances and incense are also a Confucian scholar’s constant companions. According to these scholars, fragrances are sweet, gentle, and pure, focus the mind on the work at hand, aid memory, spark creativity, eliminate impurities, and help with one’s studies. For Buddhists, the aroma of incense leads them on the path to enlightenment. Therefore, fragrances and incense are a special expression of the theme of blessings in the Tianxiadou Chenghuang tourist district.    The name of the hotel, Xiangxiangxiang, specifies the three major characteristics of the design concepts behind the project:   1. Xiang (fragrance, incense): Incense represents the theme, image, and services of the hotel. First, guests experience the overall atmosphere of praying to the gods for a life of blessings through the physical surroundings evoking the Chenghuang (the layouts of the rooms and the direction of the windows, for example) and the use of incense (the furnishings and ornaments in the rooms). Second, the hotel also provides “incense appreciation” services: Natural incenses can be prepared for the rooms in accordance with the guests’ preferences or needs, and aromatherapeutic pouches can be hung above the beds. The pinxiangtang, or Hall of Incense Appreciation, holds incense rites in the ancient style.

  2. Xiang (trunk, box): This refers to the freight containers. All the spaces in the hotel are built from converted freight containers. The containers are spray-coated with the world’s only water-based spray coating line, which not only better shields the containers from corrosion but also lowers carbon emissions. This is consistent with the ideas behind the construction of the hotel: integration with nature and minimal impact on the environment. The containers also provide a unique spatial and visual experience for the guests.   3. Xiang (countryside): The hotel is planned in accordance with the enclosed-courtyard layout of traditional Shanxi homes. Spaces for incense-related activities like the Scented Path and the Hall of Incense Appreciation correspond to the functional spaces at the spiritual heart of a traditional village: the ancestral temple and the stage. These elements incorporate local regional characteristics into the traditional culture of fragrances and modern freight containers, making these thematic and distinct architectural presences more in harmony with their environment.    The functional spaces in the hotel consist of thirty-five converted freight containers, seventeen of which are 20-foot containers and eighteen are 40-foot containers. They have become guest rooms and suites in the courtyard, private courtyards with suites, the lobby, the Shixiangzhai restaurant, private meeting and dining rooms, the Hall of Fragrance Appreciation, and the Scented Path scenic area. Each guest room has customized fragrances, incense, incense burners, and other tools and utensils for enjoying the fragrances. Each room and courtyard is named after the virtues of incense, such as Yunzhi (contains wisdom), Cangling (shelters the spirit), Nayun (welcomes sophistication), and Yansi (extends thought), and these names are etched by hand on ebony house plaques.    The hotel is at the vanguard of a new creative industry of container living, a joint project by the National Reform and Development Commission and China International Marine Containers (CIMC) of Dalian, the world’s biggest manufacturer of containers. It has a very low carbon footprint due to its construction process, in which the containers were manufactured in factories and assembled on-site. An innovative experiment, the container hotel combines the travel, cultural, and creative industries as well as local color into a unique style and encounter. It is a compelling inspiration for the future of this new industry.

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LOCATION / Southwest Chenghuang Tourist District, Tianxiadou, Changzhi County, Shanxi Province SITE AREA / 5,000 m2 DESIGNER / Tongheshanzhi Landscape Design Co. LEAD DESIGNERS / Jiang Bo, Sun Jie COMPLETED / June 29, 2012 INFORMATION / Courtesy of Tongheshanzhi Landscape Design Co. PHOTOGRAPHY / Courtesy of Tongheshanzhi Landscape Design Co.

160

MERCATO AT THREE ON THE BUND

Mercato, a restaurant managed by the three-star Michelin chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and located on the sixth floor of the famed Three on the Bund, showcases coastal Italian cuisine and is the first to offer a high-end Italian “farm chic” dining experience. In designing this 1,000-square-meter restaurant, Neri & Hu not only focused on the chef ’s culinary philosophy, but also incorporated the history of the building—in the early twentieth century, the bustling Bund was the industrial heart of Shanghai.    Three on the Bund is the first reinforced-steel (rebar) structure in Shanghai. Neri & Hu’s concept re-creates the pristine beauty of the original building. In demolishing the aged interior fixtures, the original structure and the work produced by the original construction techniques are retained. The fragmented ceiling above the host stand, the exposed steel beams and columns, and the battered surface of the wall on the other side of the restaurant logo are an homage to the project that was revolutionary for architecture at the time. The new steel structure poses a sharp contrast against the textures of the existing brick walls, concrete, and drywall, as well as the form of the structure. Neri & Hu’s juxtaposition of the old and the new not only narrates the long history of the Bund, but also reflects the changes that history has wrought on Shanghai.    When one steps out of the elevator, the Victorian plaster ceiling is the first thing that meets the eye. The mottled marks of time on the ceiling and the new steel structure make an intriguing pair. The cupboards along the wall, the metal sliding doors, and the glass chandeliers hanging from the steel structure brim with the flavors of old Shanghai. As the restaurant’s

name suggests, the lively main dining area resembles a market. The bar and pizza bar in the middle are wrapped in steel netting, wire mesh glass, and recycled wood. The inspiration for the structure made of hollow steel tubes above the bar comes from the hanger rails in butcher shops. These tubes and the exposed metal rods weave together a skeleton for hanging shelves and lights. The tables in the booths in the dining area resemble dismantled sofas, which are secured inside metal frames with wood recycled from the site.    The private dining rooms, each a box with a metal frame, have walls of different materials: recycled wood, naturally rusted iron, antique mirrors, steel netting, blackboards, and murals recalling the era of heavy industry. All these elements bring to mind the changes that the Bund has weathered. The ring of glass with wavy patterns above the rooms creates a sense of airiness in the spaces, and the sliding doors between the rooms give the spaces a great deal of flexibility. The same concepts are used in the hallway between the kitchen and the restaurant. Inspired by windows in old warehouses, wave-patterned glass walls lit from the back also encourage the chefs to interact with the diners.    Diners at the edge of the restaurant experience a different ambience. To draw light into the interior, the edge of the restaurant is a liminal space connecting the outside and inside, the building and the view, the family and the city. The lime-coated white walls separate the array of materials and colors outside from the restaurant’s interior, whose focus is simply to present the breathtaking view of the Bund in the distance and to draw the urban skyline within.

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LOCATION / 6th Floor, No. 3 on the Bund, Shanghai AREA / 1,000 m2 DESIGN / Neri & Hu COMPLETED / 2012 PHOTOGRAPHY / Pedro Pegenaute

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Pusu, a vegetarian restaurant, is located in a residential and commercial area in Chongqing’s Jiangbei District. As soon as the guest steps out of the elevator door, what meets the eye is the simple, slightly unfinished, and yet deliberate look of the entrance. The black-and-white logo on the gray wall is as plain as it is original. When sunlight scatters through the strips of bamboo that demarcate the entrance area, light and shadows couple and shift in a mysterious dance on the floor, the walls, and the roof with the passage of time. Passing through this bamboo tunnel immediately quiets the mind.    The main dining area opens sudden and wide, though both sunlight and shadows still claim a presence. The curved spaces that the designer created with bamboo fences bring a different spatial experience, allowing diners expansive views of the river at the windows as well as tête-à-têtes behind the curtains. The walking shadows behind the fabric are in themselves a moving

panorama. Through a layout that by turns relaxes and asserts itself, the designer manages the changes in the consumer’s psychological experience.    Only two main materials—bamboo and stone—are used in the design, but they have been sculpted into a wealth of visual effects through a variety of construction techniques. Fine bamboo strips from Jiangxi form the outer fence, separators, tunnel, and vaulted ceiling and also pave the floor. Gray granite from Fujian, whose rough-cut surfaces from when it was first mined have been preserved, is inlaid into the walls with no further embellishment. Their natural unevenness adds texture to the overall effect.    The combination of natural materials and light are the foundation of this space infused with the cultural atmosphere of the East. The designer hopes to describe a philosophy of simple living through this project.

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LOCATION / 6-5F Longhu Xingyuecui, Beibin Road, Jiangbei District, Chongqing FLOOR AREA / 500 m2 DESIGN / Chongqing Langtu Design Co., Ltd. DESIGNER / Yu Danhong COMPLETED / August 20, 2012 PHOTOGRAPHY / Xia Yang

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TEPPANYAKI XIANG RESTAURANT

Dormer windows, bird pavilions, old-fashioned telephone poles, wrought-iron railings on the balcony in a Western-style house: Teppanyaki Xiang restaurant enfolds the visitor immediately in lost time and transports him or her into the Shanghai of the 1930s. The re-created streetscapes inside the restaurant make one feel as if one were ambling among the crowds in the bustling streets and alleyways. Space sheds its limits, and the interior has become the exterior; the reinvented atmosphere propels the imagination into a bygone gilded age.    The restaurant was completed in 2012. At the time, the idea of designing the restaurant in the style of the French Concession in old Shanghai was considered cutting-edge. Certain planned details could not become reality due to their costs. For example, changes in the lighting could have drawn more sharply the differences between the bustling streets and tucked-away alleys in the scenes painted on the walls; and the servers could have imitated the hawking calls of merchants in the market and made more realistic the experience of people eating their meals in the alleys in the past. But the end result still proves satisfying: much ingenuity can still be found in the details in the restaurant within the constraints of the budget. A part of the coat of paint on the red brick wall has been stripped on purpose to produce the mottled look of a surface ravaged by time. Old-fashioned record players, the plants in the garden of the Western-style house, and the intriguing movable installation made of old leather suitcases all showcase the designers’ creativity.    The designer Chen Lin admits that when he designs restaurants he must take into account the rules and requirements of the market, so this is often the starting point rather than his own ideas. If these rules are not satisfied and the

restaurant’s business suffers, the best design in the world is useless. For this reason, his main concern was to create a sensible layout that met the client’s seating needs within the limited space (420 square meters).    The aesthetic preferences of the local consumer is the second factor to be considered with care. Chen Lin says with a laugh that it would be silly to design a restaurant in Shanghai that turned out looking the same as one in Hangzhou or Changsha. Different aesthetic traditions and habits have grown out of the individual cultures of different areas of the country. In the design of a restaurant, these traditions and habits also incorporate pricing as well as the age and expectations of the target consumers. After reflecting on these factors, Chen Lin decided to base the restaurant on the theme of old Shanghai. This is extremely appealing, particularly in meeting the needs of the target consumers. Old Shanghai, old streets, old stories: although the restaurant brims with the flavors of a bygone era, it not only satisfies the older generation’s desire to reminisce about their youth, but also brings a unique novelty to younger consumers, who cannot help but be drawn into a world they have never seen while standing just a few steps from an ordinary mall. And in fact, business is booming at the restaurant, which is popular with people of all ages.    “Interior design has to respect the rules of the market.” As Chen Lin says, it is crucial for the designer of a restaurant to consider fully the conditions of the venue, the client’s needs, and the aesthetic views of the target consumers; to infuse the rational with emotionally appealing elements; and to adhere to the rules of the market. A restaurant’s successful design depends on all these factors.

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LOCATION / 6F Kaide Longemont Hongkou Plaza, No. 388 Xijiangwan Road, Shanghai AREA / 420 m2 DESIGNER / Hangzhou Shanshui Assembly, Construction and Design Co., Ltd. LEAD DESIGN / Chen Lin ASSOCIATE DESIGNERS / Dai Chaosheng, Huang Xiunü COMPLETED / December 2012 TEXT / Zhu Xiaoli PHOTOGRAPHY / Lin Dejian, Su Xiaohuo

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BAMBOO COURTYARD TEAHOUSE

Yangzhou has always been a unique concept in traditional Chinese culture: it is not only a city, but also represents a Jiangnan of prosperity and pleasure. In contrast with the grace of Suzhou and the refinement of Hangzhou, Yangzhou seems to tend toward maximum sensual enjoyment and bodily comfort. It explains why the ancient Chinese would cite “Carry ten thousand strings of coins, and ride a crane to Yangzhou” in describing their ideal of an affluent and leisurely life. In the modern city, the floating Bamboo Courtyard Teahouse has redefined Yangzhou’s cultural inheritance.    Sun Wei, the Chinese architect and a partner of HWCD Associates, designed the teahouse. The design of the Bamboo Courtyard Teahouse extols the architect’s ability to combine traditional Asian aesthetics and modern design concepts.    Drawing on the fundamental elements of traditional Chinese gardens, the teahouse integrates architecture into nature rather than separating it from its environment. As people stroll through the garden, horizontal and vertical visual effects from several groves of long, thin bamboo meet their eyes. Tall bamboo fences delineate the outdoor footpaths across the surface of the lake and form an expansive, asymmetrical layout. The traditional Yangzhou courtyard is also an inspiration for the design of the teahouse. These courtyards often consist of inward-facing pavilions that form scenic areas. In the same man-

ner, smaller spaces are carved out of the square ground plan of the teahouse to create internal scenic areas. One can enjoy a full view of the gorgeous lake from each of these spaces.    The Bamboo Courtyard Teahouse is a cube with variations in density. Under the lights of the early evening, the vertical lines in the teahouse are even more pronounced than during the day. The simple appearance of the structure conveys an intent to integrate with nature, and the use of natural materials, such as bamboo and brick, is also part of the idea of sustainability behind the project. The openings in the outer wall help air circulate through the teahouse, and the thick, solid brick walls insulate the teahouse well in the winter. As a result, the teahouse relies less on heating and air-conditioning, which is both better for the environment and for the health of the people within.    Tea is one of the most important parts of China’s cultural heritage. Its abiding popularity through thousands of years has given rise to a unique culture around tea and a “way” of tea. The appreciation of tea requires a gentle, natural, and laid-back environment where people can discern the aroma and nuances of tea and remember the experience long afterward. The design of the indoor and outdoor environments of the Bamboo Courtyard Teahouse is tailored to this spirit, providing space where people can drink tea in comfort and ease.

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LOCATION / Shiqiao Garden, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province AREA / 400 m2 DESIGN / HWCD Associates DESIGNER / Sun Wei DATE OF DESIGN / 2010 COMPLETED / 2012 TEXT / Xi Yan PHOTOGRAPHY / Courtesy of HWCD Associates

4 RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

VERTICAL GLASS HOUSE THE ARCHI-EXPERIMENT IN CHUNXIAO TOWN TAPERED HOUSE HALF GARDEN HALF HOUSE

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VERTICAL GLASS HOUSE

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Vertical Glass House was designed by Yung Ho Chang as an entry to the annual Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition organized by Japan Architect magazine in 1991. Chang received an Honorable Mention for the project. Twenty-two years later in 2013, the West Bund Biennale of Architecture and Contemporary Art in Shanghai decided to build it as one of its permanent pavilions.    Vertical Glass House is an urban housing prototype that addresses the notion of transparency in verticality while serving as a critic of modernist transparency in horizontality or a glass house that is always open to the landscape and provides no privacy. While turning the classic glass house 90 degrees, Vertical Glass House is on the one hand spiritual: With enclosed walls and transparent floors as well as the roof, the house is open to the sky and the earth, positions the inhabitant right in the middle, and creates a place for meditation. On the other hand, Vertical Glass House is material: Vertical transparency visually connects all the utilities, ductwork, and furniture on different levels, as well as the staircase, into a system of domesticity and provides another reading of the modern theory of architecture as living machine.    The structure erected in Shanghai in 2013 was closely based on the twenty-two-year-old design scheme by Chang and devel-

oped by the Atelier FCJZ. With a footprint of about 36 square meters, the four-story residence is enclosed with solid concrete walls leaving little visual connection to its immediate surroundings. The walls were cast in rough wooden formwork on the exterior and smooth boards on the interior to give a contrast in surface texture from the inside out. Within the concrete enclosure, a single steel post is at the center; steel beams radiate from the post to the walls to divide the floor space into quarters, framing each domestic activity along with the concrete walls.    All the floor slabs for the Vertical Glass House consist of 7-centimeter-thick composite tempered glass slabs, which cantilever beyond the concrete shell through horizontal slivers on the facade. The perimeter of each glass slab is lit from within the house; therefore, light transmits through the glass at night to give a mystical sense for pedestrians passing by. All the furniture was designed specifically for the rooms inside the Vertical Glass House to be true to the original design concept and to keep a coherent appearance with its structures and stairs. Air-conditioning was added to the house.    The Vertical Glass House will be operated by the West Bund Biennale as a one-room guesthouse for visiting artists and architects while serving as an architectural exhibition.

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Recessed tube lighting in 70 mm × 200 mm custom steel channel

Finished floor@ second floor

200 mm × 300 mm beam welded to prepositioned steel plate in concrete 300 mm × 2900 mm operable opening Recessed tube inghting in 70 mm × 200 mm custom steel channel

Composite laminate tempered glass floor Top of steel

200 mm × 2900 mm operable opening

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Finished floor@ basement level

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LOCATION / Longteng Avenue, Xuhui District, Shanghai CLIENT / West Bund, Shanghai AREA / 170 m2 DESIGN / Atelier FCJZ PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT / Yung Ho Chang PROJECT ARCHITECT / Lu Bai PROJECT TEAM / Li Xiang Ting, Cai Feng, Liu Xiaodi PHOTOGRAPHY / Courtesy of Atelier FCJZ

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THE ARCHI-EXPERIMENT IN CHUNXIAO TOWN

Microblogging era. A message about “Le Corbusier” in Ningbo had been posted and reposted hundreds and thousands of times. The one who sparked the numerous discussions is the architect Wang Hao. At that time, he just won his master’s degree from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. Before that, he had worked for many years at a design institute and participated in many grand design projects since he graduated from the Department of Architecture at Tongji University. To join a construction project back in the countryside is a natural path for Wang Hao, whose hometown is Chunxiao Town in Beilun Port, Ningbo. “Ke’s Mansion,” the center of much attention, was a wedding gift to his cousin. Besides, most residents of Chunxiao Town share the surname Wang, and are either relatives or classmates of Wang Hao.    Many years later, when reviewing this construction practice of that time, Wang Hao felt that “it displays the typical design of an urban architect”; “certain treatment or approaches would be more conservative by current architectural design.” However, the immense response evoked by this distinctive architecture triggered Wang Hao’s reflection on the situation of today’s young architects. This also explains why he wants to renovate his family’s old house in Chunxiao Town.    “Young Chinese architects can attain great achievement in vernacular architecture, which, however, is too broad a term in my opinion. I can only say that I am an architect who builds/ designs residences for peasants, instead of an urban architect who also designs houses for peasants,” says Wang Hao. He believes that rural residential construction gives architects unlimited possibilities. It took him a whole year to revise the renovation plan of his own residence. Once construction began, he spent most of his time on-site communicating with the villagers who assisted with the construction, trying to convince them to accept his “unrealistic/surreal” ideas. Wang Hao realized that “in the past, there was a building ethic, which dictated the construction to follow that of the smartest person in town.

And now, the choice of a real estate developer is the one to follow. Peasants receive their information from different channels without professional guidance. What they learned is the most commercialized stuff.” Wang Hao calls such a mutual compromising process “the localization.” In addition to house construction, Wang thought, localization should also include an architect-designed residential living, covering all such details as hardware and hinges, to eventually reach a bottom-up unity in building a contemporary “peasant house” that is both aesthetically and functionally satisfying.    Among all his experimental projects in Chunxiao Town, his residential construction was the easiest one for Wang Hao to handle. First, he is the homeowner, the ultimate decision-maker. Second, he attempted new designs with several perspectives on lifestyle. The building is composed of two sections and the original wall was partially retained. Wang Hao particularly pointed out that the brick wall at the entrance was laid by his father single-handedly. The newly built section was expressed in exposed brick. According to his idea, “the structural framework of beams, floors, and walls can be presented.” The skylight at a corner of the living room was fashioned into a “main hall” in ancient Chinese architecture; accentuated by the red-brick furniture and the spacious living room, this corner enlivens a scene from a traditional literati painting. Based on this scene, one of his friends jokingly drew a painting that depicts Wang Hao in his old age wearing a Confucius suit and enjoying his leisure time in this setting.    Currently, this private residential model is a “semiproduct,” as Wang Hao has many ideas to be implemented in the near future. Several houses located in other corners of Chunxiao Town are awaiting Wang Hao’s hands-on construction. There might be more visitors drawn to this town by the famed architecture. However, whether their visits will inspire the local villagers to renovate their houses is still unknown, as the theory of the butterfly effect has told us.

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LOCATION / Chunxiao Town, Beilun District, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province PROJECT AREA / 250 m2 SITE AREA / 220 m2 STRUCTURAL DESIGN / Hong Wenming DESIGN / Yiren Yingzao Architect Firm CONSTRUCTION / Local experienced masons and villagers DATE OF DESIGN / 2010 COMPLETED / 2013 TEXT / Ta Er PHOTOGRAPHY / Liu Xiaoguang Architectural Photography Studio

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TAPERED HOUSE

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Tapered House is located on a 9-meter-high cliff in the suburbs of Shunde, built on a 670-square-meter trapezoidal site extending from west to east. In addition to a summer house, this structure also functions as a gallery to display Bruce Lee memorabilia, including movie posters, stills, and other items related to this late martial arts star whose ancestral home is also Shunde. This structure thus contains two parts: the tapered and elongated gallery and a relatively spacious and dignified living space.    Windows and openings of the gallery are positioned in accordance with the lighting and visual effects. The 8-meter-tall window at the far end of the gallery guides the focal point from collections to the distant view and beyond, creating a visual extension from the inside out. The cement walls on both sides of the window are engraved with the famous quote by Bruce Lee: Having no limitation as limitation; using no way as way. From the perspective of the community, this spanning east–west gallery marks a distinctive boundary between the quiet new neighborhood on the cliff and the old village down below. It has also established a new focal point at the edge of this community.

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   The massive living quarters and the gallery are internally connected as an integrated space. The living quarters contain a living room, dining room, and an open kitchen, and there is direct access to the garden outdoors. The visual continuity from the second-floor master bedroom overlooking the first-floor living room also expresses spatial cohesion. The open garden and the elongated gallery create a spatial balance, as well as a right balance between openness and privacy.    The project site is in southern China, where the weather is hot and humid all year-round. A sloped roof (8 meters to 0.5 meter wide) and side walls (9 meters to 6.5 meters tall) constitute a conical internal volume, which along with the 8-meter-tall window at the end of the volume make an architectural design that significantly improves ventilation inside the building, and thus reduces the cooling load. Some of the gallery windows are carefully positioned to minimize damage to the exhibits by natural light. The walls built with the mixture of cast in situ concrete and masonry further strengthen the insulation.

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LOCATION / Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong Province SITE AREA / 670 m2 PROJECT AREA / 250 m2 LEAD DESIGNER / Li Liangcong DESIGN TEAM / Weng Shijun, Guo Shanxi, Zhao Qicong COMPLETED / April 2012 PHOTOGRAPHY / Hunga Chan, Hong Kong Cultural Imaging Workshop LTD

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HALF GARDEN HALF HOUSE

The project site is located in Luxu Town, Wujiang, Jiangsu Province. It is a modern town after the transformation of the Jiangnan water towns. About 80 kilometers to the west of Shanghai People’s Square, when the hustle and bustle of the city fade into the distance and pastoral scenes gradually unfold, Luxu Town quietly comes into view. State Road 318 and the Taipu River cut through the town, with its crowded old town center to the south; the zone to the north is under intense development.    The renovation project of Luxu old town marks the start of Program 318, which aims to regenerate cities and towns along State Road 318 with small-scale reconstructions of selected towns. The designated site for the Luxu renovation project was a disused old warehouse, flanked by water on both the east and west sides, and comprised of a few small courtyards among simple houses with flush gable roofs.    This renovation project was defined as a game of collective designs, aiming to reinvigorate the site through planning, to infuse new blood in contemporary urban development, to break the identity boundary between the designer and the user, and to create a living space jointly designed by the property owners and designers. The original bar-shape warehouse is divided into several houses according to the column framework. The house to be renovated, the second one from the west end, is not adjacent to the water but is close enough. Each house is 8 meters wide, 10 meters deep, and about 5.2 meters high, with a double-slope tile roof.    The foremost difficulty or challenge to the projects’ designers was the rule set by the developers at the very beginning: the total cost (covering buildings, landscape, and interior renovation) had to be controlled at an amount far below the average in the domestic market. To build a high-quality architecture with an extreme low cost thus became the overarching principle of this design.    Although an interior renovation project, it was approached from the perspective of an architectural design: The introductory space, functionality, distribution of light, and atmosphere were all major considerations. Three sides of the house are adjacent to other structures and only the north side opens to the river view, which is captured via tall windows. The structural change is the first and crucial step—two walls, a partition board are added as new elements and a steel frame is gently embedded into this old house. The house is thus evenly divided into living quarters and a courtyard.

   The entrance to the house is an inviting doorway, beyond which it takes two turns to reach the courtyard. These turns provide not only a visual separation from the outside world, but also an interface for mental transitioning. The space beneath the loft is the living room; with a view of the yard, it serves as a place for meetings or group activities; it is also ideal for solitary meditation.    One side of the yard is densely planted with bamboo; the dancing bamboo gives the courtyard a sign of life. The Jiangnan region sees abundant rainfall; water is thus the soul of the garden of this house. A 7-meter-long steel-frame pond, resting against the wall in the courtyard and reflecting the sky and the bamboo, invites a contemplative mind. On the left side of the ground is a short staircase, suggesting a hidden interest. The stairs lead to the living space on the second floor, where the view opens toward the river and the countryside, an effective use of external resources. The interior design is focused on simplicity: the plain concrete washbasin, reused old wooden floors, precast concrete siding, frosted glass, and white enclosing walls create a relaxing space for body and mind. All the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the yard can be opened, through which the afternoon sunlight is reflected and diffused into an enchanting glow.    According to Zhang Zhengyi, the founder of Wuyan Architecture Studio, construction in a rural area is full of fun and possibilities. Every on-site assignment is a serious challenge for architects, because they need to have a good grasp of the builder’s working habits and abilities in order to make a quick judgment. However, builders usually have better solutions than architects, says Zhang Zhengyi. He welcomes unexpected factors that interrupt the perfected design in architectural drawings. The variables of construction and usage are given space.    This project is a typology experiment for town regeneration design in modern China, aiming to realize a dream lifestyle with a small investment that everyone can afford, and to provide another perspective on urban life. It explores design strategies at an extremely low cost and the possible building models under a controlled approach. The close collaboration between the designers and the builders, resulting in on-site problem solving and the timely adjustment of design strategies, constitutes a construction-based architectural practice. Another implication of this project is to integrate the atmosphere of the surroundings as a major feature in renovation, an approach that breaks away from traditional interior design.

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LOCATION / Luxu Town, Wujiang, Jiangsu Province SITE AREA / 77.8 m2 PROJECT AREA / 64 m2 DESIGN / Wuyan Architecture Studio BUILDING MATERIALS / Steel, translucent acrylic, granite DATE OF DESIGN / July 2012 COMPLETED / October 2012 PHOTOGRAPHY / Courtesy of Wuyan Architecture Studio

5 COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

LTS SALES OFFICE LIN’AN TAIYANG BAMBOO-STRUCTURE PIGSTY WUYISHAN BAMBOO RAFT FACTORY

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LTS SALES OFFICE

LTS, located in Zhengzhou, comprises apartment lofts in two high-rise towers. With defining features of multiple functions, contemporary style, and various flexible duplex apartments, LTS targets the energetic and passionate young home shoppers who care about high-quality living. The design of the sales office is based on these premises.    This real estate project is located in a renovated district within an old urban area in the northwest corner of the city, where the thermal power plant, an aluminum factory, some inner-city villages, prisons, the Xiliuhu Park entrance, and a few new communities stand along the north–south major highway. The designers aimed to make the sales office stand as a sharp contrast to the noisy and patchy urban environment while maintaining a humble stance, to show the project features and to enhance its appeal to younger age groups. Thus, the design follows the theme of modernity, ease, and vibrancy.    The building site is an elongated, L-shaped plot oriented to the west and facing the north–south major highway. Due to the limited building area, the LTS sales office is a two-story building with facades covered by aluminum grilles. For one thing, this design effectively uses the space to increase reception capacity; for another, the light-colored aluminum grilles further enhance the feel of modernity and varying perceptions. It is worth mentioning that at the southern and northern ends of this little sales office are two courtyards in different sizes, where clusters of lush bamboo impart a free and fluid atmo-

sphere. The northern courtyard, in an east–west direction, is a communal garden which also serves as the buffer zone between the construction zone to the north of the office and the model house. The southern courtyard, oriented north–south, is a private garden in the office suite and provides protection for the privacy of the restroom.    Back to the entrance, instead of immediate and direct access, a partially shaded and winding walkway leads the guests into the lobby after a right turn. The double-skin facade creates spatial extension and variable experiences in this small building. With the green plants arranged along the walkway, coupled with the filtered warm sunlight, this sales office exudes an extraordinarily bright and lively atmosphere right at the entrance. Inside the lobby is a sand table display of the estate; to the north of the lobby is the communal garden. The east side of the lobby is a two-story-tall aluminum grille, giving a protected view of the staircase that leads to the office suite on the second floor. The south side is a sitting area adjacent to the private southern courtyard.    Although the building is small, the changing perspectives as one moves along, together with the ingeniously arranged partitions and plants, casually convey delightful variations and stimulate dialogues between people, landscape, and the space. Softly spoken are the hazy sunlight, dotted shades, and scattered shadows, as well as a refreshing feeling hard to come by amid the hustle and bustle of the city.

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LOCATION / Zhengzhou, Henan Province SITE AREA / 270 m2 PROJECT AREA / 303 m2 ARCHITECT / Wang Fe DATE OF DESIGN / December 2011–May 2012 COMPLETED / September 2012 TEXT / Xiaoshuli PHOTOGRAPHY / Courtesy of Atelier Ten

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LIN’AN TAIYANG BAMBOO-STRUCTURE PIGSTY As urban environments see more pollution, eco-villages not only provide clean food, but also invite the urban population back to the countryside to participate in farming. Natural materials, such as bamboo and thatch, are collected by farmers and then used in a series of constructions to create new villages through collaboration with urban professionals. At the same time, these constructions also rebuild the economy and reinvigorate the region’s traditional handicrafts. Natural construction creates a more sustainable, if not permanent, way of living and provides several architectural models for the social practice of new villages.    The first building of this construction project is a livestock shelter, a pigsty, in a secluded ranch located in a small valley; the plan is to raise 100 free-range pigs, to protect the breeding environment by rotational grazing, and to build a temporary pen to accommodate 100 pigs at a reduced cost without occupying the cropland.    Supply of building materials was the designer’s first concern. Industrial materials require long-distance transport to reach the mountains far away from industrial areas, while natural materials are plentiful in the countryside. Thick piles of cobblestones, buried in streams throughout the valley for centuries, are often transported to the city for landscaping purposes. Their price started out low, but has seen rapid hikes in recent years. However, they are everywhere in the rural areas. A material of the same abundance is Moso bamboo, which thrives behind the mountain dwellings across this region and in the neighboring county of Anji. Depending on soil quality, the species and quality of bamboo vary greatly. Bitter bamboo, seen in the nearby Yuhang Tonling region, where the soil is rich in copper, is known for its special acoustic character and makes the region the home of bamboo flutes. The Moso bamboo grown in this county also has its character: winter-harvested Moso bamboo has sturdy fiber as well as bug-repellant properties. Most of the peasants are also bamboo artisans who traditionally work on bamboo buildings or products during the slack period between agricultural seasons.    The designer Chen Haoru remarks, “My special interest in bamboo led me into the study of bamboo architecture. The bamboo architecture artisans thus become my partners.” Luo Shuqing is a third-generation bamboo artisan of Shuangmiao Village. Luo’s father and two brothers were also bamboo craftsmen but had to turn to other business in recent years, because

the penetration of industrial materials had caused a decline of the bamboo practice, a profession now with very few successors. This pilot project thus became a turning point to rejuvenate the craft of bamboo architecture.    The tall grasses grown in the dense bamboo forest on the hillside around the site provide the major building material for the pigsty. The winter Moso bamboo has great tensile strength and insect resistance. According to bamboo artisans, any structure built with winter bamboo, after proper sun- and waterproofing treatment, is estimated to last for at least five years. The roof thatch, also from a nearby valley, is collected and handwoven by the villagers during the slack season. However, bamboo is not a material easy to preserve. It tends to darken or crack when left outdoors. Therefore, bamboo is usually used together with thatch and laid on a slanted surface, so that rainwater is channeled through the fine stalks of thatch into the natural-made bamboo pipe and drained onto the cropland.    Straw’s solid and strong core makes it a traditional water-repellent roofing material. Thatching is done by layering the straw in a way like roof tiles to shed water away as well as to retain conventional breathability. Breathability is an important principle in traditional architecture, which ensures good ventilation. In addition, the varying moisture and flexibility retained in natural materials makes the building sustainable.    An industrial waterproofing layer cannot be applied on the roof because it will lead to rapid decay of the underlying thatch and shorten the lifespan of the roof. The drainage feature of the thatched roof has waterproofing functions and maintains breathability, which facilitates the interior air to move up and through the roof, thus accelerating the drying process of the thatch after a rain. The thatch roof needs annual addition or replacement. Its depth depends on the owner’s wealth, that is, the thickness of the roof symbolizes one’s financial status. However, the annual replacement of the thatch roof is a local practice in response to the gradual decomposition of natural materials, and a folk custom evolved from the integration of intentional building maintenance and the agricultural calendar.    The selected site is a small bamboo forest near the residence of a farmer, Mr. Luo; it is situated in a field near the mountains, and is clearly visible when one enters the valley. Since it is a grave taboo to change the landscape or fengshui, groundbreaking is a big event in Chinese custom: the date and location are chosen with extreme care. Therefore, the designer had careful

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planning for the construction. The thatched bamboo structure is built on the original ground and employs the existing drainage without further disturbing the land. The building has absolutely no foundation, sitting directly on ten 1-meter-wide, 1.2-meter-high pillars made of cobblestones. In traditional wooden architecture, the pillars were erected directly on the solid tamped ground while the connected roof framework absorbed any instability caused by land subsidence. This is an inspiration Chen Haoru obtained from his study of ancient Chinese architecture. When visiting the Ningbo Baoguo Temple, he saw the inward-inclined pillars from the Song dynasty still standing after thousands of years and realized that the timber structure was actually balanced from the top and thus could withstand the unstable ground. In a piece of untreated farmland, this bamboo architecture makes a giant self-stabilized structure, like a bird perching on a brick parapet made of pebbles. The pillars, like a bird’s claws, firmly grasp the land while the large, swayed thatched roof stands tall, like the broad and powerful wings of a bird ready to take off.    This building is composed of four 8-square-meter modules, each of which is a stable pyramid structure held up by four principal poles. Four sides of the structure then hold up a roof framework that extends in two directions, and a unit space is thus developed. Considering the necessary span, each module is about 4 meters tall. Furnished with about 1-meter walls, this building looks proportional against the adjacent hill.

   The original bamboo site is 37 meters long, just right for four units with space in the front and back for an entrance and exit, without any alteration of the existing field and irrigation system. The span of each bamboo structural unit is 8 meters; the four units total a length of 32 meters, with a 2-meter extension at each end. There are four openings on both sides of the building to facilitate natural airflow; each opening is a triangular bamboo framework, measuring 4 meters wide and 6 meters tall. The thick bamboo used for the main post has a diameter of at least 15 centimeters and holds up the 6-meter-tall bamboo structure at an angle greater than 45 degrees. The interior view of this bamboo structure is a clean, spacious, and airy space composed of ten inverted pyramids, which are connected to one another at the top, creating a visual effect of neatly interleaved layers of repeated geometric sequences with infinite extension.    Based on in-depth research on animal behavior and inspiration from the ranch owner, a schematic plan for rotational grazing and a stockbreeding farm was developed. Included in this design are drove quarters, feeding stations, a washroom, watering areas, rotational grazing area, a swimming pool and a designated walking path for drove breeders, which provides convenient feeding and minimizes the impact on the activities of the livestock. In hot summer day, the sight of pigs swimming in the pool excites all the visitors, which proves to be the best promotion of this agricultural pilot project at the Sun Commune and the future direction of new agriculture.

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LOCATION / Shuangmiao Village, Taiyang Town, Ling’an, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province SITE AREA / 261 m2 PROJECT AREA / 380 m2 ARCHITECT / Chen Haoru DESIGN TEAM / Xie Chenyun, Ma Chenglong GENERAL CONTRACTOR / Luo Shuqing (Project Manager) SPECIAL CONSULTANT / Wu Ronggui STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT / He Ting PARTY A LEADER / Chen Wei (Sun Commune) BUILDING MATERIALS / Bamboo, cobblestone, thatch DATE OF DESIGN / 2013 COMPLETED / 2014 TEXT / Chen Haoru PHOTOGRAPHY / Lv Hengzhong

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WUYISHAN BAMBOO RAFT FACTORY

Located atop a plateau in the rural town of Xingcun, Wuyishan Mountains, the Wuyishan Bamboo Raft Factory is a complex comprised of three buildings around a courtyard. The series of buildings includes a bamboo storage warehouse, a raft-manufacturing workshop, and an office and dormitory building. It is a manufacturing and storage facility for the 22,000 bamboo stems harvested here each winter, which, following a storage period, are used to manufacture 1,800 bamboo rafts annually.    Due to the constraints of the geographical conditions and financial support, the project planning began by leveraging local resources for the construction. After surveying the local materials, construction conditions, and the building code of fire safety requirements, the designers decided to use concrete and local materials such as wood and bamboo. In situ concrete is used for the structure; the wall system uses hollow concrete blocks, which are popular, inexpensive, and locally made in the region. Since the factory building does not require heating, its outer walls are made with horizontally laid hollow bricks to provide adequate ventilation. Cement tiles, bamboo, and timber are used in the architectural elements, such as shading louvers, fenestration, and railings. All materials were handled using the same principle: to reveal their natural character with minimal surface treatments. The marks of the wooden forms left on the concrete surface are regarded as a kind of detail expression.    The architectural layout and orientation reflect topographical and climate requirements. The factory buildings, placed along the southwest side of the site, are in a linear arrangement according to the prevailing wind direction to achieve ventila-

tion. Within the factory complex, the bamboo stems are also arranged in accordance with the wind direction to optimize ventilation. The depth of the buildings is reduced to allow greater penetration of natural light into the interior. The interior layout of the workshop consists of two distinct areas; the area with a greater dimension has a width that is required for processing the 9-meters-long bamboo, and the workshop’s length accommodates three or four working spaces for the firing and bending of bamboo and assembling of rafts. Natural light is filtered through the skylights, which are oriented to the north in order to get softer light. The second area, with smaller dimensions, houses resting space, storage rooms, restrooms, courtyards, and other service functions. Most of the buildings use a sloping roof to facilitate rainwater drainage and heat insulation.    The office and dormitory building, placed to the north of the site entrance, has a veranda layout, with offices occupying the first floor, and the dormitory and cafeteria occupying the second floor. The veranda is positioned on the south side of the building, facing the courtyard for easy access. The rooms are arranged on the north side to gain better insulation as well as a view of the fields in the distance. Bamboo stalks are applied along the south-oriented veranda on the second floor to form shading louvers, which provide well-ventilated insulation as well as privacy for the dormitory rooms.    The industrial character of the project discourages superfluous design. By using the most basic elements, which reveal the structural and material logic, this architectural project reconciles aesthetic simplicity with an economy of means.

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LOCATION / Xingcun Town, Wuyishan Mountain, Fujian Province CLIENT / Wuyishan Tourism Development Incorporated Company SITE AREA / 14,629 m2 FLOOR AREA / 16,000 m2 (workshop 1,519 m2 ; office and dormitory 1,059 m2) BUILDING FUNCTION / Workshop, storage, office, dormitory DESIGN / TAO (Trace Architecture Office) ARCHITECT / Hua Li DESIGN TEAM / Hua Li, Elisabet Aguilar Palau, Zhang Jie, Zhu Laijing, Lai Erxun (resident architect), Martino Aviles, Jiang Nan, Shi Weiwen, LianJunqin DATE OF DESIGN / 2011–2012 DATE OF CONSTRUCTION / 2012–2013 (workshop, office and dormitory, storage unbuilt) PHOTOGRAPHY / Su Shengliang