The firm had initially received the proposal to design a community center in the county area of Xiuwu, Henan. It is a vast rural area that spreads across 630 square-kilometers with scant means of traveling between the scattered villages. These rural areas are sans the facilities like education resources, community services, information services, and an aesthetic mind, thus came in the proposition of a community center that will provide and uplift the cultural consensus of the society. It is a small step to promote literacy and alleviate poverty from rural areas.
However, to counter the concern of scattered villages, irregular transportation services, and for minimum architectural intervention, the architect has designed the community center in fragmented miniature facilities, to be located in different places. It consists of seven units, out of which the first phase includes a vernacular theatre known as Periscope, an Observatory known as a bar, and a communal library known as the Bent House. These structures are made of cast in place concrete, proposed to be located on a farm, or the hills or near the lakes and rivers, and also differ in the forms. This sculptural peach hut is the first building that was completed recently and it is situated on farmland that is full of blossoming peach trees.
The architect says that the hut is a conceptual derivation from invisible arches emerging from the ground and the clouds. The orchard of the peach trees is all bending towards one side, hence forming an imaginary arch this building also mirrors this concept. It is made up of pink cast-in concrete with light wooden formwork, that holds a complex construction system together. The texture of the exterior Is such that it illuminates differently, in all types of light be it the daytime, or the evening or the night.
It is also a tree-shaped building, with arms reaching out to the sky and huge glass windows to devour the sun and the light. All the windows installed in this building are different from each other and serve a subjective purpose. The big glass window on the first floor, gives a panoramic view of the farmlands, removing the obstruction of the peach trees from the view. The south glass window is a circular rotating window that acts as a camera hole and allows the visitor to observe dynamic images of the beautiful orchard in the subtle daylight. The vertical window, running from the ground to the first floor, adds depth to the view field and also creates different patterns of shadows in the interiors. Along with these, the entrance window is a quarter arched window that symbolizes the natural and organic curve of the peach trees. This building is a metaphor in itself, with detailing that is accurate and at parity with the concept. The art of detailing, lights up the otherwise beautiful sketch profoundly.The black handles to the door or the detailed light sconces in the interiors are metaphors to the concept behind the design of this building. On the south side of the building, the formwork is inscribed in the shape of a tree, symbolizing the peach trees all around. The interior of the building has minimum ornamentation and has let the structure play its role in creating flexible spaces, free movement, scant furniture and ample light and depth through glass doors and windows.
This building stands as a state of an art sculpture amongst the lush green surroundings, like a breath of imagination, aesthetics, and functionality. It is the first completed miniature facility, acting as a predecessor for the many other similar buildings to follow. This hut and the others following are an opportunity for the backward people to learn, interact and grow. Good architecture always heals, and it should never hurt.
