MINIATURE SERIES II – LIBRARY IN RUINS
微建筑系列 II - 废墟书屋
In the beginning, the architect received the original commission to design a 300-square-meter public building for facilitating the county’s culture and art education in Xiuwu, Henan. However, considering the vast serving area (630-square-kilometer county area) and the difficulty of traveling between scattered villages, the architect came up with a proposal to divide one building into a series of miniature facilities in different locations so as to better serve local communities.
These cast-in-place concrete miniatures are interpreted into a series of tree-shaped spaces with tentacles reaching out for the sky, bathing in light and shadow. Their locations vary from fields, woods, to mountaintops, and their forms differ as well: while one grows out from the ruined walls in an abandoned village, another embodies a floating theater on the water.
Following the first completed"Peach Hut", the second episode of the miniature series, "Library in Ruins", is constructed alongside the remnant of an adobe house in Sunyao Old Village which is 20 kilometers away from the Peach Hut.
最初，建筑师被委托在河南修武县设计一个300平米的文化建筑，来提升乡村社会的美学文化素养。然而考虑到630平方公里的县域面积和相距遥远的分散村落，建筑师提出将这个文化建筑单体分开成为一系列微型小品，可以更广泛的服务于社区的儿童与社区活动。
这些混凝土浇筑而成的微型建筑被设计为一系列带触角的树状空间，向天空生长以获取光与影，他们有的坐落在田间、有的在树林中、有的从废弃的村庄残墙里生长出来、有的在水塘中营造一个漂浮的剧场。继第一个微建筑“桃屋”之后，第二个微建筑“废墟书屋”坐落于20公里外孙窑老村一处土坯房残垣中。
Sunyao Old Village is located in a mountainous area far away from the town center. Since 1996, villagers have moved into the brick-concrete houses in the new village next door one after another, leaving behind many aged adobe houses and cave dwellings. Years have passed, and when the abandoned village was examined by the architect, its surrounding undulating mountains, the barren cliffs adjacent to the site, and the vast fields above the cliffs all manifested rich topographical relationships that would evoke design inspirations.
At first, the village asked the architect whether it was possible to build inside the plot of the original house where only a part of ruined adobe wallswas left. However, after searchingfor nearby craftsmen, villagers were no longer able to find any craftsman who could build with the original rammed earth technique. Therefore, the architect proposed to build with a new method to allow a new structure to grow from the old ruins: allowing the new building to become a spatial device where people enter the ruins, jump over the old houses, and gaze into the village, the fields, and the mountains in the distance.
孙窑老村地处远离乡镇中心的山区，自1996年起，村民们陆续搬入隔壁砖混结构的新村房屋，于是留下老村中许多土坯旧屋和窑洞日渐荒废，颓圮下来。现今场地周边起伏的远山、相邻处裸露的荒土崖壁以及崖壁之上的广阔田野展现出层次丰富的地形关系。
村庄提出可否利用原有宅基地范围内一处土坯墙废墟进行建设，然而寻遍附近工匠，都不再能找到可以修筑原有夯土工艺的工匠。于是建筑师提出可否以新工艺方式在废墟中进行建造，让一个新生的构筑物从旧的废墟中长出来：让新建筑成为人们进入废墟、跃升过老屋、观看村庄、田野与远山的一个空间容器。
Furthermore, the architect hopes to present a duet of intertwined memories in this building: On the one hand, it connects cave dwellings, barren hills, and earth walls– physical remains with heavy texture and traces of time; On the other hand, it continues the formal languages of the miniature series while conforming to the context of the site to become a sculptural space that grows from the terrain.The two sets of memories spatiallyintersect each other: A concrete entrance protrudes out at the location of the original doorway on the remnant wall to invite people in; After entering the building, a corner of the remnant wall extends into the room, guiding people to explore the cave dwellings and the barren cliff in the rear garden; The traditional-style wooden doors are installed on the rear facade, continuously reminding visitors of the dialogues between the new space and the existing remnants.
The facade and internal spaces of the building are unfolded in a topographic approach. The undulating outline of the roof echoes the terrain and distant mountains, and the roof ground naturally forms an outdoor terrace and a slide for children. The section curvature that jumps over the old walls links the first-floor entrance, the terrace, and the rooftop. The interior space functions not only as a stepped library, but also as a small projection room. The meandering plan of the building and the network of paths become an extension of the surrounding maze-like cave system.
更进一步，建筑师希望在孙窑书屋中呈现两重互相缠绕的记忆：一方面连接起窑洞、荒山、残墙，这些带着厚重质感与时间痕迹的遗存；一方面则延续微建筑系列的形态特点，顺应场地的形势而成为从地形中生长而出的雕塑式空间。两重线索彼此交插，残墙上原先门洞位置伸出一个混凝土体量的入口邀人进入；而进入建筑后，残墙一角伸入室内，引导人们沿着残墙痕迹去探索后方窑洞与荒山崖壁；在后院混凝土墙壁上，旧式木门被沿用，持续提示着来访者新空间与旧物件之间的冲突与对话。
建筑的外形与内部空间以地形的状态展开。屋顶以起伏的轮廓呼应着地形与远山，而起伏地面在屋顶自然形成室外阶梯平台与滑滑梯。跃升过老屋的曲线剖面沟通起首层入口,二层阳台与屋顶平台。室内作为一个可以兼做小型论坛放映室的阶梯图书馆 。建筑蜿蜒的平面及周边路径则成为周遭迷宫般窑洞系统的延伸。
The library is embraced in the open arms of the village buildings and trees. On the east and west facades of the building, large curtain windows are designed to greet the idyllic, leafy surroundings.The architect hopes to bring new energy to the silent village with interestinggeometries and lighting. Many smallspecial-shaped windows are cast with in-situ concrete on the north and south facades to echo the forms of buildings in the miniature series. These irregularly shaped openingscurate a play of shadow during the day, and creates a backdrop of twinklinglights throughout the night.
书屋隐藏于村落建筑与树木的怀抱之中，四周茂密的树林与田园景象通过东西两侧大窗映射进屋内，南北两侧立面上预留了许多异形小窗洞以呼应微建筑系列建筑的形态，希望以奇异的形状与光亮带给沉默的山村一些新能量——在白日里勾出奇异的阴影，在黑夜里熠熠生辉。
After the library was completed in September 2020, nearby villagers and children often come here to read and play. It also attracts many tourists from neighboring counties and cities to the village. The small plaza in front of the building entrance regularly hosts community activities such as villagers' meetings and festivals. It was used as a sub-venue for the National Rural Revival Forum in the fall of 2020 to welcome rural revitalization practitioners from all over the country. At the same time, Sunyao Old Village attracted webcasting companies from Shanghai and Zhengzhou to come renovating old houses as homestay hotels, and they use webcasting platform to help the old village connect to the outside world.
书屋于20年9月建成后，附近村民们、孩子们会常常来这里读书、休息和娱乐，这里也吸引了许多相邻县市的游客前来游玩。书屋入口处的小广场定期举办村民大会和乡村讨论会等社区活动，并曾作为2020年秋全国乡村复兴论坛·修武峰会的分会场使用，迎接来自全国各地的乡村振兴工作者们。与此同时，孙窑旧村也吸引了来自上海和郑州的网络直播公司前来修缮老屋、经营民宿并搭建网络平台帮助老村连接起外面的世界。
Xiuwu 修武
Library 图书馆
66m2
Lead Architect 主持建筑师：Chen Xi
Design Team 设计团队：Zhu Jing, Tian Di, Huang Jiajie, Wang Xingyao, Xu Lvbao, Wang Weiguo, Wen Weijian (Intern) , Cao Suying (Intern)
Clients 委托方: Xiuwu County
Lighting Consultant 灯光顾问: AURA Lighting Design Consultant
Construction Documents 施工图设计: Li Jianhui (architecture), Su Zhimeng, Huang Xiaolong (structure), Gan Bin, Xiao Liangmin (MEP)
Photography 摄影: Zhang Chao
Awards 获奖：
2021 DEZEEN AWARDS | LONGLIST: REBIRTH PROJECT
2021 DEZEEN AWARDS｜ 入围长名单：最佳建筑重生项目
2021 ARCHITIZER A+AWARDS | FINALIST: ADAPTIVE-REUSE
2021 ARCHITIZER A+AWARDS | 入围奖：建筑改造