Archstudio has been in charge of designing an exhibition center in the green area of Dengcun, in the city of Yinchnag, west of Hubei province, in eastern China.

This place is surrounded by tea gardens and impressive natural spaces and belongs to the testing ground for the construction of the ecological civilization system in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. The city seeks to project an urban plan that creates a high-quality ecotourism consumer group that integrates outdoor exploration, pastoral experience, forest therapy, and luxury vacations.

The exhibition center is an essential space in the initial phase of the construction of Sanxia Tea Town, housing hybrid functions such as reception, dining room, sale of cultural and creative products, exhibitions, performance auditorium, coworking space, etc.
The architecture studio Archstudio used the space available in the tea garden to organize the volumes of the Sanxia Tea Town Exhibition Center into two plots. Plot A is surrounded by two small hills, so a building is created as a "bridge" that connects them and maximizes the view of the tea garden landscape from the interior space. Plot B is located next to the square where the road turns, which offers a fantastic tourist spot due to the large unevenness that is generated.

The buildings were designed with transparent facades to allow tourists to feel as if they were in a tea field and enjoy the feeling of openness as they tour the interior. These interiors are distributed in the form of islands for each functional area due to the curved shapes of the building and are built in wood and rammed earth finishes in response to their location.


Sanxia Tea Town Exhibition Center by ARCHSTUDIO. Photograph by Jin Weiqi.
 

Project description by Archstudio

Sanxia Tea Town is a resort situated in Dengcun Town, Yichang City, Hubei Province, China, surrounded by vast beautiful tea gardens. It is only 19 kilometers away from the Three Gorges Dam. The resort town boasts favorable ecological resources and serves as a testing ground for eco-civilization system construction at the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. The master planning of the resort town aims to create a high-quality eco-tourism consumption cluster that integrates outdoor exploration, pastoral experience, forest therapy and luxury vacation.

The exhibition center is an essential node in the early construction phase of Sanxia Tea Town. With a gross floor area of about 5,000 square meters, it accommodates hybrid functions such as reception, dining, cultural and creative product sales, exhibition, performance auditorium, coworking space, etc. It offers cultural and tourist services in the Sanxia Tea Town and acts as an important display window for the culture of the Sanxia Tea Valley.

In Dialogue with Tea Garden
ARCHSTUDIO utilized the limited spare space in the tea garden to arrange the building volumes in a seamless and fragmented manner. This design strategy integrated the architecture into the surrounding tea garden landscape as much as possible, complementing and connecting with the existing natural landform to balance iconic identity and functionality. After intensive site investigation, the design team selected plots on either side of the public road, placing the exhibition center on Plot A and Plot B.


Sanxia Tea Town Exhibition Center by ARCHSTUDIO. Photograph by Jin Weiqi.

Plot A is a relatively flat open space surrounded by two small hills about 7 meters high. Adjacent to a winding mountain road on the south side, it overlooks the continuous tea fields and distant mountains. The north side of the plot extends into a deep small tea valley. Both the hills are covered by tea fields, and there is a local house with earthen walls and gray tiles settled on the east hill.

In winding tea mountains, it's challenging to find flat ground, which makes the square in front of the hill very precious. So, the square is retained and extended to the top of the hills, creating a “bridge”-like building between the hills.

The "bridge" is constructed based on the height and shape of the hill. The south area unfolds in a meandering arc, connecting with the existing traditional house and the multi-level elevation difference, and maximizing the view of tea garden landscape from the interior space. The north side adopts straight lines to strengthen the sense of volume of the "bridge" and hide it in the hills. Underneath the "bridge" is a square that can accommodate the gathering, evacuation and activities of a great many tourists.

Plot B is next to the square where the road turns. It offers a fantastic sightseeing spot because of the large elevation difference and dotted woods. Two "viewing windows", a wide one and a long one, were designed to frame the most characteristic tea fields nearby and the mountainous scenery far away. Like tree branches, the two "viewing windows" compose a small performance space. Its roof is flush with the road, making it a viewing terrace open to the public.


Sanxia Tea Town Exhibition Center by ARCHSTUDIO. Photograph by Jin Weiqi.

Loop Path
The architects intended to design visually appealing buildings that plays with the surrounding scenery and create a strolling path that lets tourists feel as if they were in a tea field and enjoy multi-dimensional experiences as roaming through the architectural complex.

Featured a sense of openness, the buildings are designed with transparent facades, accesses in different heights and directions, and a complete circulation path like a Mobius loop that follows the internal circulation organization. The undulating large steps resembling tea fields connect with the square and embrace tourists in a welcoming gesture. They also serve as a natural backdrop for activities at the square. Walking upwards along the steps leads to the main leisure space on 2F.

Where the building's curve stretches through the outdoor corridor to the eastern and western wings. At the eastern end, the gentle outdoor sloping steps enclose a small courtyard with the traditional local house. Visitors can walk up to the roof terrace from there easily and freely.

The western building features a slightly lifted rooftop that forms steps, creating a small outdoor activity square facing the northern landscape. Outdoor steps are also arranged here to connect with the interior on the second floor. In the center of the building, spiral stairs and elevators serve as the core of traffic, vertically connecting the first floor, the second floor, and the roof terrace.


Sanxia Tea Town Exhibition Center by ARCHSTUDIO. Photograph by Jin Weiqi.

Hybrid Operations
Beneath the large steps on Plot A lies the eastern part of the building's first floor, which is a tourist reception center. This area provides various functions such as reception, display, rest, waiting, and sale of agricultural products. The design maintains the complete curved shape of the top surface beneath the steps, and creates a circular tea tree courtyard that defines the main entrance.

The indoor functional areas are arranged in the shape of islands, and LED screens are installed on the wall to facilitate all kinds of activities. Meanwhile, the west side of the first floor is a coworking area that can be operated independently.

The main body of the "bridge" is on the second floor and serves as a cafe and book bar. The bookshelves, made of curved laminated bamboo panels, are inspired by tea fields and are combined with coffee tables to divide the space into different areas, allowing visitors to overlook the views while reading and sipping coffee.

The traditional house to the east side of the second floor has been renovated and connected with the main body of the new building. It serves as the main dining area, with an open dining space, private dining rooms, tea room, chess & card room, and more.


Sanxia Tea Town Exhibition Center by ARCHSTUDIO. Photograph by Jin Weiqi.

Materials like timber and rammed-earth finishes set the tone of the restaurant to respond to the locality of the building. The roof terrace offers a stunning overlooking view to the surrounding landscape, perfect for camping or holding a party under the stars. It's a key part of the architectural experience.

Plot B accommodates an audio-video function that complements the leisure and entertainment functions of the building on Plot A. It consists of an audio-visual hall and a multi-functional hall that can accommodate up to 100 people.

These halls can be used for film and TV show performances, wedding ceremonies, and other activities. The motorized screen panel system, which can be rotated and slid, allows for flexible modes of the audio-video hall. When the screen panels are opened, the tea garden landscape comes into view and serves as a natural background for music performances. When the panels are closed, the space becomes fully light-proof, providing a better environment for projections. The multi-functional hall offers a broad field of view and can be used as an ancillary space for the audio-visual hall or as an independent small exhibition space.

More information

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Architects
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Collaborators
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Interior.- Jiang Zhao, Wang Tonghui, Cao Chong, Wen Chenhan, Hubei Guangsheng Construction Group Co., Ltd.
Landscaping.- Shanghai Gardens (Group) Co., Ltd.
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Client
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Hubei Culture & Tourism Group Co., Ltd. / Hubei Yunhua Rural Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd.
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Area
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4,917 sqm.
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Dates
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Design time.- March 2019 to August 2021.
Completion time.- April 2023.
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Location
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Yichang, Hubei Province, China.
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Photography
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Han Wenqiang, was born in Dalian, Liaoning, China. He graduated from the Architecture School of Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2005, and since then he has been teaching there. Combing his teaching, he founded 2010 his office in Beijing ARCHSTUDIO.

He mainly researches contemporary architectural and interior environments based on traditional cultural backgrounds. He advocates carefully reading the particular requirements and constraints of every specific project during the design practice, constantly breakthrough and challenging limitations, and continuously deepening the whole process from concept to construction details as well as transforming the relationship between the inside and the outside, the old and the new, the artificial and the natural. He devotes to making the space to be the communication medium between people and people, people and environment, so as to create a livable life.

His major projects include Tea House in Hutong, Waterside Buddist Shrine, Organic Farm, etc. His works have won Building of The Year by Archdaily, LEAF Awards, Interior Design’s Best of Year Awards, Taiwan Interior Design Gold Award, etc. His works have been invited to participate in different exhibitions, such as Contemporary Architecture in China, Harvard, The Gwangju Design Biennale in South Korea,  10x100 - An Exhibition of 100 Architects for the 10th Anniversary of UED, etc.

Awards.-

2019 Architizer A+Awards—Jury
2018 FA Emerging Architect Award—Winner
2018, 2017 Building of the Year by Archdaily;
2017 Wood Design & Building Awards;
2017 The 8th IIDA Global Excellence Awards;
2017, 2015 Interior Design’s Best of Year Awards;
2016 LEAF Awards;
2016 A+ Awards by Architizer;
2016 The 12th Annual Hospitality Design Awards;
2016 American Architecture Prize - Architecture Renovation Silver Award;
2015 Taiwan Interior Design Award - Commercial Space Gold Award, The TID Award of Residential Space, The TID Award of Public Space;
2015 Contract magazine The 37th Annual Interior Awards - Restaurant Category and Exhibition Category;
2015 Asia Pacific Interior Design Awards - Leisure & Entertainment Space Gold Award, Food Space Gold Award and Living Space Silver Award;
2015 CIDA China Interior Design Award - Residential Award.

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