Bamboo Craft Village / Archi-Union Architects

Architects: Archi-Union Architects
Year: 2018
Photographs: Bian Lin, Huapeng Chu, Li Han, Wei Zang, Hua Chai, Philip F. Yuan
Manufacturers: Chengdu Meiyu Landscaping Engineering, Sichuan Xinchangle Architectural Engineering, Suzhou Crownhomes
Lighting Support: Hongri Lighting Group
Construction: Sichuan Zhongye Cultural Tourism Co.Ltd
Digital Fabrication: Shanghai Fab-Union Architectural Technology and Digital Fabrication Co.LTD
Masterplan for Bamboo Craft Village: Chengdu Meiyu Landscaping Engineering Co., Ltd.
Guide Rule: Sichuan Jiehong Construction Engineering Co.Ltd
Timber Structure: Suzhou Crownhomes Co.LTD
Steel Structure: Sichuan Xinchangle Architectural Engineering Co.LTD
Contributor: Ningjue Lyu
Supporter: Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China
Commissioner: China Arts and Entertainment Group
Organizer: China International Exhibition Agency
Co-Organizer: Shanghai Fengyuzhu Exhibition Co.Ltd., College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Tongji Architectural Design, Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning & Design Institute
Sponsorship: Shanghai Tianhua Co.Ltd, Shanghai JWDA Architecture Design Consulting Co.Ltd
Exhibition Technical Support: Shanghai Fengyuzhu Exhibition Co., Ltd.
Fonts Support: Reeji Font
Principal Architect: Philip F. Yuan
Architecture: Alex Han, Xiangping Kong, Shaoying Lei, Bing Yang
Interior: Qinhao Wen, Xiaoming Chen, Jingyan Tang, Qiucheng Li, Ju Wang
Structure: Jing Wang, Jinjiang Zhou, Lei Li, Chen Liang, Qiang Zhou, Xiang Zhang, Xiaoyi Zhao
Electromechanical: Yong Liu, Ying Yu, Xi Li, Yong Wang, Dawei Wei
Electromechanics: Yong Liu, Ying Yu, Xi Li, Yong Wang, Dawei Wei
Master Plan for Bamboo Craft Village: Chengdu Meiyu Landscaping Engineering Co., Ltd.
Exhibition Technical Support: Shanghai Fengyuzhu Exhibition Co., Ltd.
City: Chengdu
Country: China

The Bamboo Craft Village, designed by Archi-Union Architects in Daoming County, Chongzhou City, Sichuan Province, integrates traditional rural living with the cultural heritage of bamboo weaving and modern construction techniques. As part of the InBamboo project, inspired by a traditional Chinese poem, the design features a spiraling tiled house with a serpentine roof supported by steel and wood, completed in just 52 days using prefabrication. The project redefines rural architecture, combining advanced fabrication like robotics with traditional construction to foster cultural preservation and economic growth. Public buildings such as the Dingzhizhu Bamboo Weaving Culture Center, the Fifth Space, and a tourist center reflect a harmonious blend of local materials and ecological design, while the Zhuyi Bed and Breakfast demonstrates sustainable tourism through minimal environmental impact and integration with the natural landscape. Periodic events like arts and construction festivals highlight bamboo weaving and ecological agriculture, creating dynamic public spaces and guiding rural upgrades through sensitive planning. These efforts form a prototype for revitalized villages where architecture and industry meet to create utopias blending tradition with rigorous engineering.

Bamboo Craft Village / Archi-Union Architects

The Bamboo Craft Village, situated in Daoming County, Chongzhou City, Sichuan Province, lies over 50 kilometers from the urban center. This village exemplifies the Lin Pan rural living environment, characterized by a strong sense of community and a rich rural atmosphere, alongside its vernacular intangible cultural heritage of bamboo weaving. After conducting an in-depth analysis of the area’s current conditions and needs, the project’s designer, Philip F. Yuan, envisioned a rural infrastructure space that integrates a cultural industry system, harmonizing with the village’s ecology, culture, industry, and lifestyle.

InBamboo

The Bamboo Craft Village is a successful outcome of the InBamboo project, which draws inspiration from a traditional Chinese poem illustrating the ideal harmony between a house and its rural bamboo forest surroundings. At the heart of the village’s natural fields stands a spiraling tiled house. Its overlapping roof is supported by a light steel and wood construction system, 70% of which was achieved through an optimized prefabrication process. This prefabrication approach enabled the architecture, interior, and landscape to be completed within just 52 days. The serpentine overlapping roof naturally creates two interior courtyards, offering a layered spatial experience that blurs the boundaries between interior and exterior, as well as between landscape and architecture. All building functions are seamlessly integrated under this interwoven roof design.

The project redefines how architecture engages with tradition, offering a fresh perspective on the relationship between village and city. By introducing a new rural architecture industry, it establishes a framework for prefabrication and construction as the foundation of modern rural design. This approach not only preserves traditional construction methods but also enhances the overall development of village industries. The InBamboo project, which utilized two months for prefabricating the wood structure and only 52 days for on-site construction, serves as an experimental model for rural industrialization. When rural industrial factories are equipped to integrate advanced fabrication techniques, such as robotic construction, with local architectural practices, it will pave the way for meaningful industrial advancements in the near future.

As the flagship project of Bamboo Craft Village, InBamboo goes beyond merely reflecting on traditional conventions, embracing a forward-looking approach. It has increasingly drawn artists—referred to as “new villagers”—who are eager to return to rural areas for collaborative artistic creation and reconstruction alongside local residents. This collaboration helps preserve and advance the unique cultural characteristics of the region while fostering the development of diverse and innovative rural enterprises. The success of InBamboo has also earned the government’s full confidence, leading to the entrustment of the village’s broader transformation and development to Philip F. Yuan and his team.

This iteration expands its vision beyond the confines of a single abandoned farmhouse to encompass an entire village teeming with vitality. While realizing the idyllic vision of paradise depicted in traditional literature and fine arts, Bamboo Craft Village also serves as a platform for innovative, industry-driven rural development experiments suited to the modern era.

Using InBamboo as a prototype, Philip F. Yuan employs a topological shape-finding technique to integrate the diverse functional requirements of each building into a variable cross-section tile roof, supported by a steel-wood framework optimized for factory prefabrication. Bamboo Craft Village amplifies and perfects the integration of design and construction within an industrial system. The newly constructed houses harmonize with their surroundings while offering distinctly unique experiences. These structures represent real-world utopias, serving as both a romantic expression and the outcome of meticulous scientific and engineering processes.

Named after the traditional craft of “bamboo weaving,” the village periodically hosts special events, such as arts and construction festivals, to showcase and teach bamboo weaving, processing, and consumption. The road network has been reorganized into a coherent system, and waterways have been incorporated into a purification system that complements the rural landscape. Ecological agriculture is seamlessly integrated with the landscape and dining experiences. The design also considers multi-level public buildings and spaces, guided by a carefully crafted village management framework that respects and preserves the local character while maintaining overall control.

Dingzhizhu Bamboo Weaving Culture Center

The Dingzhizhu Bamboo Weaving Culture Center is situated at the village entrance, nestled at the foot of the mountain, serving as the first point of contact for arriving tourists and acting as a guide. Two small farmhouses originally on the site were merged into a cohesive and streamlined architectural space. Beneath the open, flowing linear roof are a mezzanine living area, a high-pass display area, and a semi-outdoor tearoom. Visitors can experience the bamboo weaving process through production, teaching, and displays that seamlessly connect indoor and outdoor spaces. The structure features a locally sourced grey tile roof and bamboo weaving façade, supported by a timber framework.

The Fifth Space

The Fifth Space serves as the village service center and is centrally located, bordered by forest trays and canals at the rear and overlooking the public square and rape fields at the front. A small parking lot complements its facilities, which include restrooms, a teahouse, public seating, a delivery point, an ATM, and children’s play areas. The building’s “X”-shaped layout extends into the site, offering spaces for rest and views of the surrounding flowering fields and village roads. Adopting the village’s cohesive architectural style, it features a curvilinear cross-section roof supported by a steel-wood hybrid structure. Bamboo-molded concrete walls and traditional grey tile roofs further integrate the design into the local context.

Tourist Center

The Tourist Center is located near “Chongqing Road,” renowned as one of the most picturesque country roads, serving as the primary gateway to the village. It features bus drop-off points and small parking lots for visitor convenience. Set amidst the natural rural landscape, the center encircles the central public square and opens towards the adjacent rape fields. The building combines brick walls with wooden structure roofs, with a smooth ridge line that spans the space. The first floor houses open-ended public facilities, including an integrated service hall, shops, and exhibition spaces, while the second floor offers relatively private working areas.

Teenagers Campgrounds

The Teenagers Campgrounds, situated near a mountain ravine, offer continuous public activity spaces and dispersed individual dwelling units nestled within the wild mountainous landscape. Designed for cultural experience teams, the campgrounds gradually blend into the surrounding natural environment. The public activity area consists of several interconnected blocks arranged diagonally, housing multi-functional classrooms, restaurants, and equipment rooms. Accommodation units are elevated among the forest, connected by plank roads, and harmoniously integrated with the terrain. Constructed using prefabricated balsa structures, the buildings feature facades of weather-resistant steel panels and highly reflective glass. Viewing facades, framed with high-reflective glass floors, provide expansive views of the forest while allowing the structures to blend discreetly into the environment.

Zhuyi Bed and Breakfast (B&B)

Zhuyi Bed and Breakfast (B&B) serves as a demonstration project for the Baita Lake Tourist Resort and plays a pivotal role in Chongzhou’s efforts to develop a Chinese-featured town. The design takes full advantage of the site’s natural attributes, creating an architectural space that seamlessly harmonizes with the surrounding environment, the intended functional purpose, and the chosen structural materials.

The guest rooms at Zhuyi Bed and Breakfast are situated in the former dormitories of the Academy of Fine Arts, located on a hillside behind InBamboo. Arranged along an east-west axis facing the village, the eight single-level rooms are compactly distributed within the forest, lightly touching the ground to minimize environmental impact. Visitors can access the mountain top via battery cars and walk into the houses. The design preserves the site’s original appearance, retaining its rustic charm, while the construction process minimizes damage to existing vegetation. The rooms take inspiration from traditional buildings, featuring elegant double-curvature roofs derived from a circular planar topology that echoes the lobby’s form. Two interlocked circular plans divide the interior, with one side functioning as a living room and the other combining recreational and residential uses. The layout includes a dressing area, small bar table, wardrobe, sofa, writing desk, and TV, with functional spaces like showers and toilets positioned at both ends of the circular plan. An independent outdoor courtyard emerges at the intersection of the two circles, extending the activity space and immersing guests in the natural surroundings. The courtyard allows for the preservation of large on-site trees while optimizing natural lighting. Construction utilized steel nail piles and wood structures, with local traditional grey tile roofs and bamboo-fabricated facades blending harmoniously with the Lin Pan site environment.