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A volume of the village

Ning Ma, Yujie Zhai & Sitong Gong
China

In ancient times, beautiful memories were recorded in books or depicted on paper. With the progress of the times and the development of science and technology, people have learned to use the lens to capture the wonderful moments of life, and use a photo album to retain each memory. In the long history, can the customs and folk customs of a village also co-exist in a carrier like photos?

We try to use the folklore and handicrafts of a village as a space component——the wall, to awaken people's memory of traditional culture, and provide a platform for displaying the silent culture in the past, so that the traditional culture can still remain vibrant and full of passion.

The traditional Chinese shadow puppet art is to use the light to project the dynamic shadow puppets on the screen, which provides us with a possibility to make folk culture dynamic. We give full play to the advantages of natural light, and introduce light into the room at a certain inclination angle through the concave roof.

Light passes through the slanted skylight of the roof and projects the activities of indoor people on the translucent partition. Everyone who passes by can see the activities happening indoors in real time. As a result, the two-dimensional wall becomes the material carrier of three-dimensional activities. It is the spatial integration and also the overlap of time and space.

The base is Longgang, Shenzhen. Compared to that in cities, public space in traditional villages doesn’t have a specific function, without being divided into specific areas according to their functions. Hence, a volume of the Village is not only a cultural hall but meets multiple public space demands and serves multiple functions.

The design uses each three-dimensional "book" as the main space in the planar organization. The space is translated or dislocated in composition, forming 6 spaces for people and activities in a limited site area. Visitors shuttle through the building, and the dynamic light and shadow tell the story of a Village itself. Wandering outside the "book" is a visit to the memories of the Village and an appreciation of the Village's culture; and entering each "book" is an experience of traditional handicrafts and a dialogue with the Village's culture.

This design is suitable for areas with abundant light. The design of the roof is mainly to make full use of the sunlight, project the sunlight from the funnel-shaped roof to the interior, and hit the translucent wall of the interior at a certain angle. The skylight not only has a better concentrating effect, but also can echo with the general patio form in the village. The projection effect will change with the change of the sun in a day, indicating the vitality and vitality of culture. At night, the skylight on the roof can project the indoor light like a spotlight. From a distance, it seems that the stars are scattered on the building.

Culture is the essential feature of a rural settlement. Cultural accumulation is often ignored and diluted with the development of social economy and the change of life style. However, the traditional cultural texture and roots are not only reflected in the tangible physical remains such as topography, infrastructure and architectural form, but also in the intangible aspects such as rural style, folk tradition and manual memory.

This design not only takes into account the increase of cultural venues for local people, so that they can still retain their own customs and maintain a familiar neighborhood relationship, but also provides an environment far away from the hustle and bustle of the city for foreign tourists, precipitating their hearts in the experience of shuttling through the buildings, feeling the local conditions and customs of other places, increasing knowledge and experience, and stimulating the anxiety of modern people The polar side.

The concept of “a volume of the Village” originates from the fusion and rebuilding of village culture and modern lifestyles. Village building is a place where memories of that region and culture of that community are stored, which makes both novel building construction ways and the intangible form of spaces (emotion, culture and spirit) indispensable.

It spatially fills the lack of public space and continues the tradition of customs in terms of time; Moreover, it stimulates the revitalization of rural industries economically; culturally, it is the spiritual center to enhance the cohesion of the township.

In the design of this project, we have merged the new and old with the Lingnan culture and architecture as the entry point. Elements such as rural villages, farmlands, gardens, and folk culture are injected into the design details. Our designers are committed to protect these endangered and enduringly forgotten Lingnan cultural heritage and expect that they will still take on a new look after going through the ravages of time to allow more people to appreciate the charm of traditional culture, and experience the authentic Lingnan style.

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