focused on creating community-based architecture all over the globe, wiki world has accepted the invitation from the villagers of yongtai, china, to preside over the design of the regional cultural and art festival. inviting the locals and other volunteers to join them, the firm has realized a set of timber pavilions, located in the rice field in front of the 190-year-old qingshizhai gate of a historic rammed earth castle. introducing the idea of co-building, the project seeks to include the villagers actively in the creation of an environment that responds to their needs and preferences as efficiently as possible. 

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all images courtesy of wiki world

 

 

in order for this co-building festival to take place, wiki world issued an open invitation to the local community: ‘put down the phone, close the computer, and pick up the hammer – here we are friends and workers’. on september 26, at the entrance of qingshizhai, in the rice fields, more than 60 friends and volunteers completed the construction of the rice pavilion. ‘we hope to see the children in the village climbing and playing on the buildings, we hope to see the peasants hanging peppers and corn on the rice pavilions, we hope that the villagers will see more people coming here and witness the better changes in the countryside’ the firm shares. 

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two separate rice pavilions were built with the use of glued laminated timber (glulam). not only do the new structures offer a better view of qingshizhai’s landscape architecture, but also they can serve as cultural activity venues, or new social centers for the villagers. rice pavilion A is formed as a triangular space with a flat side of 3.6 meters, made with 9 cm thick glulam. specific openings were designed to frame the rice fields and the historic gate. the roof is designed as a small terrace; a great place to overlook the traditional village.

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rice pavilion B is a landscape building extending on the ridge, constructed with the same glulam frame system. the platform has a width of 1.4 meters and a height of 2.6 meters, providing a growable facade system for the future. the pavilion allows more tourists to enter the rapeseed field in spring and the rice field in autumn, while supporting rich local folk activities.

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the co-building festival is the end of a new beginning of the village. the project has generated a place for villagers to gather and children to play, attracting many passing people to stop and join. integrating harmoniously with the surrounding fields, it will bloom along with the flowers in spring, helping villagers protect the new harvest from summer until autumn. 

 

 

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project info:

 

name: co-building in rice field – rice pavilions
architecture firm: wiki world, in collaboration with advanced architecture lab
architects: mu wei, zhang yingchun, wu baorong, pan yanjun, feng zhaoxian, chen mengqiu
organizer: yongtai county government
funder: yongtai county rural revitalization foundation, villagers of yongtai county
construction: alumni of ceibs, tongji university, scholars and ngo from fujian and local villagers
collaborators: les grands ateliers innovation architecture, centre de recherche architecturale, ensag école nationale supérieure d’architecture de grenoble, wiki building school, open urbanism foundation
location: renhe earth castle, yongtai county, fuzhou, fujian province, china

 

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom