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West-line Studio

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Female owned

Guiyang, CN

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Miao girls at the cultural center main entrance Credits: West-line Studio
Miao girls at the cultural center main entrance
Credits: West-line Studio
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Chetian Cultural Center

The cultural center is located in rural Chetian Village, in Guizhou Province, South-West China. The village has more than 400 years of history and is well known in the area for its stone houses, built with local materials. Of the 207 families living in the village, 41 belong to the Miao ethnic minority, one of the oldest minority groups in China, most of whom live in Guizhou province. Chetian Village is an important tourist attraction in the region and aims to protect and promote local minorities’ traditions and its stone architecture. It is frequently visited by ethnic minority tourists, mainly Miao and Hui, coming from nearby villages in Guizhou. The square outside the cultural center, surrounded by a river, is often used as a stage for local Miao dance and drama performances and for holding traditional ceremonies. The square also serves as a vibrant meeting point for tourists and locals.

The architecture of the cultural center is strongly characterized by 40-centimeter-thick walls, built according to local traditional methods, using stone from the village's pit. The stone has a unique blue shade, which is why it is commonly called 'blue stone'. It comes from sedimentary rocks and its major components are limestone and dolomite. The local construction techniques unfortunately got lost during the passing of time. Designers had to develop a new system, studying the existing stone houses of the village to preserve as much as they could the traditional masonry methods, together with more modern construction technologies. The strong and obsessive presence of the stone creates an intimate interior space and shows the architects' deep respect for the historical masonry traditions of Chetian Village.

This project perfectly sums up West-line Studio’s research and its approach to the design, which aims to create an architecture which stands as a display by itself, without only being a place to host exhibitions about local culture and handicrafts. The original existing stone houses comprise less than a quarter of the entire village - unfortunately most of them have been damaged or painted white. The use of the stone in the cultural center tells the history of Chetian stone culture and aims to save traditional skills which otherwise might get lost.

Construction

The whole project has been supported by government investments and the construction team was directed by the head of the village. During construction, three village heads succeed one another, and together with them different construction and extraction techniques. 

The local traditional ones unfortunately got lost during the passing of years. Designers had to develop a new system, studying the existing stone houses of the village in order to preserve has much as they could the traditional masonry methods, together with more modern construction technologies. Furthermore, every village head and his team had a different approach and different techniques themselves, starting from material’s extraction from the village’s pit, to the cutting until the final posing.

Each and every stone keeps the memory of its construction process and of the different hands of those have shaped it.

Each and every stone shows the trials and the mistakes, which deliberately become an active part of the architecture. 

Each and every stone takes on sociological significance in the process of understanding the life and culture of South-West China stone villages.

 
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Status: Built
Location: Guizhou, CN
Firm Role: Lead Architect
Additional Credits: Team
Architecture: Haobo Wei, Jingsong Xie
Landscape: Haobo Wei, Minghua Ou
Interior: Haobo Wei, Jingsong Xie
Site Control: Haobo Wei, Minghua Ou
Construction management: Xingxing Li
Structure: Yuanping Li, Xiaoqiang Yang
Equipment: Hongbo Shi
Consultant: Fuming Long
Supplier: Local materials
Exhibition design and curator: Martina Muratori
Research: Haobo Wei, Yudan Luo, Haihui Jiang, Lanyu Xu
Photo: Jingsong Xie, Haobo Wei

Credits: West-line Studio

 
Chetian cultural center main entrance Credits: West-line Studio
Chetian cultural center main entrance
Credits: West-line Studio
Top View Credits: West-line Studio
Top View
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Back outdoor staircase Credits: West-line Studio
Back outdoor staircase
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Back outdoor staircase Credits: West-line Studio
Back outdoor staircase
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Roof detail Credits: West-line Studio
Roof detail
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Courtyard Credits: West-line Studio
Courtyard
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Indoor staircase Credits: West-line Studio
Indoor staircase
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Corridor Detail Credits: West-line Studio
Corridor Detail
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Exhibition Credits: West-line Studio
Exhibition
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Light Interactions Credits: West-line Studio
Light Interactions
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Indoor ramp Credits: West-line Studio
Indoor ramp
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Under construction Credits: West-line Studio
Under construction
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Facade detail Credits: West-line Studio
Facade detail
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Stone detail Credits: West-line Studio
Stone detail
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Chetian village's pit Credits: West-line Studio
Chetian village's pit
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Cutting process Credits: West-line Studio
Cutting process
Credits: West-line Studio