WILD WORKSHOP

01 / Overview

The logic of coherence

When the architects first visited the site in early 2021, surrounding dwellings were being demolished, yet the village order of living by the water remained legible. Eaves slightly above head height, just-enough windows, and thin concrete cantilevers directed attention to the relationship between bodily scale and everyday life.

The project does not reproduce vernacular houses. It reconstructs a new waterside scene by translating their form, scale, material logic, and village atmosphere into contemporary public programs.

02 / Site

From village rear to new gateway

The abundant water network around Shanwan Village once formed the area's primary transportation system, so settlements were built immediately along the banks. With road traffic, the hierarchy reversed, and this former rear edge facing farmland became a new gateway zone.

The three homestead plots carry different degrees of publicness: the central plot faces water and rice fields and hosts the library and auditorium; the compact southern plot takes in open views for dining and tea; the quiet northern plot holds the studio and research accommodation.

03 / Cluster

Pitched roofs, gables, and public scale

Local appearance controls required double-pitched roofs, no more than two stories, and fixed limits for eave and ridge heights. Rather than resisting this traditional type, the project asks how a public building can be shaped from a residential scale.

Facades facing open fields and water extend horizontally to define a public presence at distance, while the riverside interface uses rhythmic gables to echo the village fabric across the water.

04 / Library

Library and small auditorium

The library sits on the most open central plot, facing farmland to the north and broad water to the south, along the necessary route into the eastern village entrance. It naturally becomes the landmark of the gateway area.

Inside, an east-west route links the entrance, compressed service counter, double-height terraced bookshelves, concealed service spaces, and small theater. When the folding doors by the water open, the boundary between interior and exterior disappears, and the lake view, bookshelf terraces, and outdoor slope become a continuous artificial topography.

At the northeast corner of the auditorium, two facades can open fully. The indoor stage extends outward into the tall gallery, turning the distant rice fields into a stage backdrop.

05 / Tea Pavilion

Banquet and tea pavilion

The southern tea pavilion is the smallest building but has the most difficult relationship with its site boundary. The plot's natural axis points toward the village, perpendicular to the waterfront, while the banquet hall wants to face the deep view over Zhongjiadang.

Two overlapping rectangles organize the plan, using the compact site efficiently while reshaping the facade into a narrower and lighter proportion. A core holds stairs, lift, dumbwaiter, and restrooms, while circulation loops around it on both floors and opens toward surrounding views.

06 / Studio

Research studio

The northern research studio uses a triadic layout to form a U-shaped semi-open courtyard facing the river. Its two flanking gables stand along the bank and echo the houses across the water, while the field-facing side stretches horizontally.

A ground-floor sheltered corridor defines the courtyard and links the waterfront court with the open rice fields. The deliberately lowered ceiling creates intimacy and prepares the sudden openness of the taller interior space.

The plans show how the three plots, the library, and the small auditorium organize public activity, interior circulation, and the waterside landscape into a continuous system.