Advisor: Hansy Better Barraza & Christopher Roberts
Location: Jiuxian, Guangxi
RISD, Thesis
Introduction
This project explores the relationship between public memory and cultural preservation through the design of a new tourism model, calling into question the current preservation agenda of rural villages in Guilin, Guangxi, China.
A city situated in a mountainous terrain and famous for its landscape, Guilin has been a popular destination for tourists since the 1990s. The booming tourism industry led to massive capital inflows and increased urban tourists into the villages of Guilin, causing the demolition of decayed structures and the rural gentrification of local villages. As many villagers depended on tourism-related business and profited from leasing houses and farmland to outside investors, they were willing to trade off their deteriorating homes and move out from the villages.
This project links the preservation of rural culture to the reform of the regional tourism economy, questioning a top-down tourism structure based on material preservation. It proposes a new economic ecosystem that allows the villagers to participate in, to take control of, and to benefit from the ever-expanding tourism market. Through the design of shared public spaces and co-living programs, traditional activities are manifested architecturally and the authentic heritage of rural living is illustrated for both villagers and visitors.
Rural Gentrification & Top-down Tourist Economy
On-Site Survey
Background | Political and Economic Events
Activities and Routine | Mapping Experiences
Existing Land Use and Town Materiality
Methodology
Design
Master Planning of New Tourism Experience
A Journey of Experiences: Re-engaging Rural Activities
Tourism programs offered by outside investors tend to create a romanticized image of rural living for visitors. This inauthentic representation not only undermines the living culture of villagers but also prevents connection between tourists and visitors within their socioeconomic context.
A journey of experiences is proposed for both villagers and visitors to engage in traditional activities that reconnect with the past. The sequence of designed public spacesand residential additions echoes the routines of the villagers, and the concept of joining fragments is manifested through the designed joints of old and new materials and the intersections between villagers’ and visitors’ living spaces. Visitors enter the village through farmland. The circular path surrounds villagers with crops, echoing the activity of farming. Visitors can go up to the ceremonial hall located on the mountain or continue to the new community center dedicated to the activity of communal cooking.
At the community center, the skeleton of a decayed wooden structure is preserved and strengthened with new wood. This structure hosts the activity of water play. Wood structures on the ground intersect with each other to recreate rectangular pockets to trap water. These squares mimic the water reserve wells which the villagers traditionally used to clean vegetables and wash clothes. A sunken seating space along the pond rebuilds the connection between water and people. People can quietly reflect in this space. Exiting the public compound, visitors arrive at the residential additions where they have the opportunity to live with the villagers. They share common spaces like the kitchen and courtyard.
Part I : Community Center
Part II: Residential Additions
Renderings | Residential Addition & Community Center