Medieval Rethink: Contemporary Cultural Center Inspired by History

Medieval Rethink: A Contemporary Cultural Centre Inspired by History

The QUAD Studio architectural firm was commissioned to design a Cultural Centre for a small village in the Fujian District, which dates back to the Song Dynasty. The village has a beautiful concentric medieval planning centered around the "Ding Qi Stone," an ancient rock formation that symbolizes the origin of the village. The design concept was to create a sense of place that the villagers could relate to more as a community center, rather than a civic hall. This idea changed the look and feel of the Cultural Center, making it a new destination for villagers to congregate and socially interact.

Breaking Down the Village into Components

To reinterpret the ancient village into a contemporary piece of architecture, the QUAD Studio broke down the village into components of positive and negative space. They defined the functions as objects and stitched these objects together to create natural courtyards of green space. By representing the past in the future, they made the Cultural Center a focus. A multipurpose hall is the primary function, and other functions are clustered around the object, creating internal streets and courtyards filled with natural landscape.

Public and Private Spaces

The Cultural Center is designed in a way that responds to its functional behavior by separating public, semi-public, and private spaces. As you travel up the building, you can experience more active space at lower levels leading to quieter space at high levels. By doing so, the functions are clearly defined with active multipurpose/training spaces at ground, exhibition/library at intermediate floor, and archive/offices on the top floor. All public spaces are naturally ventilated, allowing natural landscapes to exist inside the Cultural Center, allowing visitors to relax and use the space for social interaction on a day-to-day basis.

Green Public Space and Traffic Streamlines

To free up the ground floor, the Cultural Center is designed to allow for pedestrian traffic. By lifting the ground plane, it allows natural light and ventilation into the basement car park. This concept is enhanced further by bringing the internal courtyards down to the basement level as well. Based on the three principle entrances into the Cultural Center, the public vertical traffic is handled by public cores on the northern and southern courtyards. Service cores are located on the northeast and southeast corners. This design creates a streamlined traffic flow and enhances the visitor's experience.

In conclusion, the QUAD Studio's Medieval Rethink project is a contemporary Cultural Center inspired by history. By breaking down the village into components and separating public, semi-public, and private spaces, they created a space for people to congregate, relax, and socially interact. The design also incorporates natural ventilation, green public spaces, and streamlined traffic flow, making this Cultural Center a destination for villagers and visitors alike.

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