SPACE July 2022 (No. 656)
Architectural Acupuncture Prescribed to Quarries
Xu Tiantian principal, DnA
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Han GaramHan Garam (Han): DnA (principal, Xu Tiantian), who has drawn attention by undertaking rural revitalisation works in Songyang County, China (covered in SPACE No. 643), has recently regenerated quarries in Jinyun County near Songyang. How did this project get going?
Xu Tiantian (Xu): Over the past two decades, the local government in Jinyun has sought to repurpose the quarries, making some plans and holding some discussions, but ultimately these plans were abandoned for various reasons such as engineering challenges and significant investment required. In April of last year, we received a research invitation from Jinyun, and after we learnt more about the rich resources in our nation’s quarries, we proposed to take a more pragmatic approach.
Han: I believe there are more than 3000 abandoned quarries in Jinyun alone. What prompted stop running?
Xu: Since the late 1990s, the demand for tuff, a building material, has dwindled, and Jinyunʼs once-thriving quarrying industry began to decline. After 2000, the government stopped mining the quarries, due to the level of ecological damage and set up the Xiandu Scenic Area to take advantage of its natural assets to develop tourism.
Han: I would like to hear more in detail about the quarrying process as well as the spatial conditions that have resulted.
Xu: Some were quarried from the top down, and others from the middle of the mountain upwards or downwards, depending on the quality of the stone. This has given rise to complex sequences of spaces with breakthroughs towards the outside and above. For example, if the rock is more than 10m thick and the yellow mud is very brittle, quarry workers punch holes in the middle of the ground, deepen them, and then slowly expand outwards. Pillars must be set aside a few metres apart to prevent the rock from collapsing. The bottom has extended deeper and deeper, reaching a depth of more than 30m, and stone pillars and skylight are formed in this way. Moreover, the part that was created by a machine has a vertical wall structure, while the conical shape is the result of manual work. I thought to myself, when I saw Jinyun quarries, this is spectacular and today represents great spatial potential.
Han: What criteria were used to select the site of a total of nine quarries for the conversion into cultural spaces? There also must have been a design strategy that encompassed both the masterplan and the entire site.
Xu: The quarries themselves are already a kind of land art, leaving the traces of people from various generations. So I think design should begin with assessment and discovery before sketching and drawing. We analysed the characteristics of the quarry’s internal spaces, including its artistry, to see whether redesign would be necessary and what kind of design would be most suited to its given conditions.
The first visit to the quarries group is Quarry #10, which is the most appropriate demonstration of active quarrying and which introduces tourists the history of Jinyun quarries. Quarry #9 can be used for performances; Quarry #8 can be used as a library; through the tunnel of Quarry #8 one reaches a teahouse in Quarries #2 and #3, and you can pass a waterfall of in the Water Garden along the hillside path. Then, at sunset, tourists come to the Sunset Quarry to watch the sunset baked bright stone beam wall wonders. The internal caves of Quarry #4 are interconnected and can be used to reach the quarry restaurant. After dinner, you can arrive at the last stop from Quarry #4 to the platform of the Moonlight Quarry to watch the moon rising and the moonlight dancing across the landscape, to conclude tour experience.
We’ve adopted a similar approach to the ʻarchitectural acupunctureʼ we applied in Songyang—minimal intervention, micro-renovation, and refined upgrades.
Site diagram
Han: Currently, three quarries are open to the public. Quarry #8 is presently undergoing transformation into a reading space.
Xu: Quarry #8 programme, to transform the space into a library by hollowing it out, with a net height of 36m, retains the original quarrying platform and a small pathway up from the middle. The cave appears to take the inverse shape of the mountain with the form of that space prompting a sense of the ritualistic when looking up. Quarries were conceived for production, and their scale is not suited to human habitation. Thus, a new layer has been created by adding a human-friendly scale to the quarries while also lending these spaces new functions.
Quarry #8 is the superimposition of a modern library over a traditional study in which each platform is a multicultural study where one can read, practice calligraphy from stone rubbings, and in the future, gain access to e-books among other digital materials. It is an extension of the library, which is a reflection on the evolving form the library form owing to globalization and technological advancement.
Han: Quarry #9 is a performance venue where wuju, a local traditional Chinese opera, is the main feature on the programme.
Xu: The length, width, and height of the original Quarry #9 were perfect for the harmonic scale required by the concert hall, and the space forms a perfect diffusion sound field. The material of the sidewalls is different from the common smooth hard rock, which belongs to the porous sound-absorbing type. When coupling this with artificial excavation, the surface of the natural undulating convex and concave space prompts diffuse reflection and renders indoor sound softer and more delicate. After performing various tests, we improved acoustic performance through flooring, panels in the side railings, and other sound-absorbent measures.
Han: Please describe Quarry #10 in greater detail.
Xu: Quarry #10 is where local workers perform their skilled craftwork at specific times of the day. The performances present the history of the quarry and its construction to the public, so becoming a firmer part of collective memory.
At the same time, the terrace built in front of Quarry #10 offers a view out over the surrounding landscape that is only limited by the horizon. The interplay between concentration on the interior space, that arises from the quarrying of stone, and the view of the surroundings reveals the dual face of this site.
Han: It is very meaningful that you tried to rebuild the village’s identity and vitality by using the neglected quarries as a spatial resource. I look forward to seeing DnA’s next steps. Are there any other regional projects or object of interest on the horizon other than these rural areas and quarries?
Xu: The tulou building is a world heritage site, but there are thousands of tulou left on attended, degraded, or abandoned sites in this region in Fujian province. So we are looking into several tulou either to upgrade to improve the living conditions in their original habitats or to reuse these tulou to convert these traditional buildings to accommodate modern functions with adapted reuse. So, we are very much looking for this new challenge.
Architect
DnA (Xu Tiantian)
Design team
You Changchen, Dong Qianling, Li Sixian
Location
Xiandu Street, Jinyun County, Lishui City, Zhejian
Programme
Quarry #8 – library / Quarry #9 – thea
Site area
Quarry #8 – 538.69㎡ / Quarry #9 – 329.
Height
Quarry #8 – 37.5m / Quarry #9 – 26m /
Structure
Zhejiang Tunnel Engineering Group Co. LTD
Electrical engineer
SongYang Design Institute
Construction
Jinhong Construction Co. Ltd
Design period
Quarry #8 – June – Nov. 2021 / Quarry
Construction period
Quarry #8 – Nov. 2021 – Mar. 2022 / Qu
Client
Jinyun County Culture Tourism Development Investme
Landscape design
DnA (Xu Tiantian)
Xu Tiantian
Xu Tiantian is the founding principal of DnA (Design and Architecture). Her pioneering ʻarchitectural acupunctureʼ is a holistic approach to the social and economic revitalisation of rural China and has been selected by UN Habitat as the case study in ʻInspiring Practice on Urban-Rural Connectionsʼ. Xu Tiantian received her Masters degree in architecture and urban design from Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and her baccalaureate in architecture from Tsinghua University in Beijing.
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