Text description provided by the architects
Located at the suburb of Huoshan County, AnhuiProvince and rested against Dabie Mountain,Niujiaochong Village is a site of great importancein the grand circle of the Nanyue Mountain scenicspot. Because of its important location, it needsboth environmental upgrading and development as animportant junction point. With a river running across the Niujiaochong Village,the villagers have built their homes along the riverbanks, including dwellings, vegetable fields andbamboo forest. Many daily scenes can be seen alongthe river. For example, there you can see residentswashing clothes and vegetables every day. However,the river course leaves much to be desired due tothe perennial lack of governance and maintenance. The upper and lower reaches of the river course aresilted because of overrunning weeds and accumulatedsediments. And it s quite primitive and inconvenientto wash clothes in the river. Based on the rivercourse and from the perspective of public space,therefore, this project reexamines the waterfrontspace to reconstruct the traditional spatialnarrative of rural life adjacent to water andreproduce the vitality of rural public spaceaccording to the current rural life. Two quays for laundry and relaxation are designed inthe upper reaches and the lower reaches, whichcombines laundry, a daily activity and a form ofsocial communication, with public spaces, andrefreshes the rural spaces. The design adopts anintegrated language and form, using standard steelsand other materials common in rural areas. By doingso, both the difficulty of construction could bediminished, and the design could be accepted andfollowed. The upper quay used to be steps down the river nextto the bridge, where there is a certain traffic riskbecause of the direct connection between steps andlanes, and the river course is filled withoverrunning weeds and accumulated sediments. In thetransformation process, the bridge and the laundryquay are considered as a whole. The direction oforiginal steps has been adjusted to form a leisurespace where people can chat at the entrance of thebridge. The huge eaves of the steps then shelter thelaundry space below. In the river course, a pool isformed by two retaining walls, with outlets at boththe top and bottom, so villagers can rinse largeclothing in the pool or at the outlets where waterflows quickly. The lower quay used to be a deserted water splash, sowe design a weather corridor parallel to the riverside. One end of the corridor connects with the roadto the village, and the other connects with thewaterfront plank road. An entrance to the downstreamplatform is set in the middle of the corridor. Theweather corridor is thus like a boat floating abovethe river, and it looks like a painting scroll whenpeople walk along the river course. The eaves on theside facing the water are deeply overhung andlowered so that people s sight is limited to thesurface of the water. And the relative darkness andquietness inside the corridor are in an interestingcontrast to the lightness and movement of the river. In the river course, we have built three newretaining dams to raise the water level to a certainheight, and several boulders are placed in the riveras stepping stones to cross the river. Eachretaining dam has a water outlet to facilitate thevillagers to wash clothes. The three levels in thecourse of the dam form three washing areas,including the upstream, midstream and downstream. The upstream area is used for laundry, the midstreamfor washing vegetables, and the downstream mainlyfor washing mops, each being distinguished accordingto the cleanliness of the water. Also, we set up arest platform under the trees opposite the river asa backdrop, which is an excellent place forvillagers to rest, chat and play cards every day,and from which they can also see the whole waterarea. The original revetments on both sides of the currentriver are the best rural scenery. Through simplereviews, we have set a waterfront plank roadconnecting all the junction points, which alsoprovides convenience for the villagers to farm andenter the mountain. One part of the trail is locatedat the waterside and among the water plants, whilethe other part lies at the hillside and above thebamboo forest. The relationship between the footpathand water is cordial and natural, providing a scenicroute for tourists to experience the ruralwaterfront scenery. Taking into account the trees in the existing VillageCommittee Square, the partial reconstruction of thesquare is carried out and a porch is newly built,which provides a comfortable space for villagers daily activities and rest. | Impact ofthe Project When the project is complete, the popularity of thewaterfront laundry quay is unexpected. Every dayfrom 7:00 am to 10:00 am, it is the liveliest timewhen the villagers gather together and wash clothesand chat. Now the quay is not only a functionalfacility for washing clothes, but an informationcenter and social arena, where people in the smallvillage chat and gossip. And when it rains, thevillagers could rest in the weather corridor nearby. In short, with the activation and improvement of thescene of daily rural life, the project has revivedthe originally declining rural public space with thehelp of the river, and reshaped the landscape ofrural life adjacent to water.
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