02:_BREAKTHROUGH

Qijian Urban Village Renovation Project

Nature: Personal Work Role: 100% Individual Date: Sep. 2022- Dec. 2022 Location: Foshan, China

How to balance trade-offs, symbiosis, and co-prosperity of the new and old buildings? This is what I desire to address in the renovation project of the Qijian urban village. Located in the CBD of Foshan, Qijian Village is distinctly fragmented and alienated from the bustling perimeter. My project sought to connect the village on both sides to the city and merge villagers into the city.

If an urban village is a heterogeneous fragment embedded in the city, collage is an echo of the city's complexity and plurality as well as an extension of local history. Therefore, having addressed the chaotic environment and property disputes, I have retained some representative heritages. They will provide valuable spatial clues for future urban readers, including the residents, tourists, and researchers, to track spatial changes. The cascading accumulation of different periods of the city leads to a historical continuum.

NODE A : FARMER'S MARKET

The first node is the renovated farmer's market, which connects the neighborhood above to the village through the vertical axis of the roof

NODE A : MAKER CENTER

The second node enters and crosses the community through two differently located entrances, spiralling up through staircases at both ends and eventually converging.

NODE C: CULTURE AND ART BLOCK

The air corridor runs through the entire design and ultimately converges here. As a cultural and artistic block, the different small volumes are integrated into the architectural axis of the village and eventually reach the city.

The three nodes of the building are scattered in the site through the distribution of entrances in different directions. The axis's form and the corridor's inclusion can attract people from all sides to enter the site and use it as a transit point to connect the neibourhoods.

The roof and structure of the market utilize vertical axes extracted from the site and incorporate different functional zones and undulating floor plates based on the size of the roof, creating a light and open form.

The main logic of the maker center is to spiral and converge from the two entrances, accompanied by a corridor interspersed in the middle of the building and the placement of an atrium, which increases people's accessibility without interfering with the passage of the road between the buildings, while ensuring light. Furthermore, it provides a good space for the white-collar workers in the urban village to start their businesses and work and activates the commercial possibilities of the whole community.

The third node of scattered buildings is the cultural and art center area, which is also designed according to the original diagonal axis of the site. The functions include a traditional culture museum, a creative goods store, a children's library, and some public facilities and corridors, which eventually lead to the Qiandeng Lake Park across the street. The site is designed as an open area to provide maximum public space for public activities, while preserve some of the local cultures, and actively disseminate it.

Maeket Second Floor Plan

The market functions are distributed according to roof logic through the design of the vertical axis and undulating roof folds, while the translucent roof can give better light. In addition to the vegetable, meat, and fresh food areas, independent stores are added to the platforms at different heights. At the same time, there are rest areas and corridors between the partitions connecting each open entrance and passage. The building acts as a hub between the first part of the community, drawing people passing here.

Market Perspective Section