A Petite, Peach-Hued Community Centre

Tasked with designing an arts and culture centre in rural Xiuwu County, architecture firm Atelier Xi instead conceived a set of seven microstructures that would better serve the local community. We speak with studio founder and principal architect Chen Xi about the first completed structure, the uniquely shaped Peach Hut

Design Anthology: How did you first meet the client?

Chen Xi: At the beginning of 2019, I was invited by a Harvard alumnus to visit Xiuwu County, a rural county in central China’s Henan province. During the trip, I was really impressed by the vision of the municipal leader, who has a PhD in political science from Boston University, to rejuvenate the rural community with his ‘aesthetic approach’. During our trip and over countless conversations, he explained the long-term drawbacks of remote rural areas, including insufficient education resources, inadequate access to information and a lack of aesthetic imagination. At the end of the trip, he invited me to design a small public building for the county.

What was his brief to you for the project?

The original commission was to design a 300-square-metre public building for facilitating arts and culture education in the county. But considering that the county is about 630 square kilometres big and that it can be difficult to travel between the villages, I proposed dividing the one building into a series of seven miniature facilities in different locations so as to better serve local communities. Through these minimal architecture investments, the project aims to inspire local residents, to help them enjoy quality of life and to alleviate isolation.

What is the overall size of this building?

The construction of the seven units is divided into two phases, with the first phase consisting of this project, Peach Hut, a 55-square-metre bar located on a peach tree farm. Periscope, an 80-square-metre theatre, and Bent House, a 60-square-metre communal library, are soon to follow.

How did you approach the project — what was the idea behind the unique form?

Peach Hut is surrounded by a field of blossoming peach trees. The trees all lean to one side, which inspired the sculptural form of the architecture. We envision that the building’s arcs are cut out from the earth and clouds, forming a unique shape that rises to the sky.

The various window shapes respond to different views and light angles: the floor-to-ceiling window on the first allows panoramic views of the farm; the round window on the south side captures dynamic views of the orchard as the daylight changes; the vertical windows at the corners lengthen the depth of field from the orchard to the village; the skylight casts ever-changing shadows; the quarter-circle entrance window resembles stooped peach trees.

Can you tell us about the materiality and construction techniques?

During the first site visit we were struck by the colour and abundance of peach blossoms, which inspired the building’s colour. We decided to construct the building with pink cast-in-place concrete. The construction team undertook onsite testing and eventually landed on a formula that matched the colour and concrete strength needed. The pink concrete walls reveal different colours and qualities based on the changing light conditions throughout the day.

The exterior concrete finish features wooden formwork that outlines the contour of the curved geometry, while the interior finish includes smooth formwork to better reflect the light from above. The formwork is made from local wood, and all of the metal fixtures and accessories were produced in local metal workshops.

Where there any particular challenges or constraints to do with the site?

With almost no experience in complex construction, the local contractor and construction workers were initially reluctant to execute the design. We had architects on site guiding the construction over a period of two months, and the project was eventually completed successfully — and the contractor was really proud of the outcome.