Jiaoxi Township, located among the famous historical and cultural towns in China, belongs to Zhenglu Township, Tianning District, Changzhou City, and was formerly part of Wujin District. It is strategically located at the junction of Changzhou, Wuxi and Jiangyin, and has a civilized history of more than seven hundred years, with a far-reaching reputation.

During the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, Jiao Bing, the tutor of Zhu Yuanzhang, set up a tutorial hall here to conduct lectures, thus it was called Jiao Dian. As time went by, people changed the name from Jiao Dian to Jiao Xi in pursuit of a livable environment where water can overcome fire. The location of the project is in the core area of Jiaoxi Ancient Town, leaning on He Mountain in the east, resting on Shunguo Mountain in the north, and looking at Shiyan Mountain in the south, with Shun River flowing through the mountain and Longxi River passing through the village.

“Dale Jiaoxi” is a cultural heritage protection and revitalization project created by Jiangsu DYF Cultural Technology Development Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of Jiangsu Cultural Investment Management Group, with the support of Changzhou Tianning District, aiming at the joint bidding for the heritage of the ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River. Jiangsu DYF fully relies on the cultural resources of Jiaoxi from “le” to “le”, and with the cultural background of Mr. Liu Tianhua, a famous national musician in China, the core value of the project can be refined. Until now, the project has completed the restoration of two historical streets and alleys, South Street and South Lower Pond, and at the same time innovatively launched a variety of immersive creative demonstration mode.

The design includes several nodes in the town, such as “River Goods - New Department Store Innovation Center”, “Bright Line - Music Aesthetics Center” and “Everything Grows - Eco-Art Store”.

In this design and implementation, we have introduced a variety of immersive creative demonstration modes to realize sustainable development on the basis of inheriting the traditional cultural lineage and creating a unique brand of the ancient town through the introduction of innovative experiences and characteristic industries.

1. Everything Grows - Eco Art Store

Located at 114-115 Nanxiatang, the Eco-Art Store is a commercial business with a wooden structure. The main purpose of the remodeling is to innovate new businesses.

The new business format after the renovation is reflected in the fact that the whole art store has a new way of operation and new means of operation, as well as new business techniques. In terms of space redistribution, the first floor of the new building is mainly set up as an exhibition space, including a moss exhibition space and a mini-showroom area. On the second floor, there is a workshop area with teaching function, which makes the whole building not only has commercial function, but also has the function of exhibition and teaching.

After remodeling, the Eco-Art Store has been transformed into a space that perfectly blends nature and art. It is not only a place for displaying artworks, but also a space for spreading ecological concepts. Every piece of artwork in the first-floor gallery conveys a sense of reverence for nature and advocates ecological balance. The children around here also enjoy going to the workshops on the second floor to explore the mysteries of the natural ecosystem with their teachers.

2. Bright Line - Music Aesthetics Center

Gwangmyeonghang-Music Aesthetics Center is located in Chengbi’s former residence, and is transformed into a music bookstore.

Repairing the old as the old building after this new business “reset”, in the hands of the architects become more and more complementary to the integration of the surrounding scenery, although it is a music bookstore, in a number of old streets and lanes inherited from the traditional spatial form, the designers will be a modern concept of spatial patterns into the ordinary neighborhood. Instead of destroying the pattern of the courtyards, they have done a conservation update, preserving the old buildings and components, and retaining the most valuable urban lifestyle. All of these have become more rustic under the rendering of time, reflecting the color of nostalgia and the temperature of memory.

Compared with the previous function of the building, defining it as a center for music aesthetics gives it a more vivid and dynamic life. On the first floor of the renovated building, the first two courtyards have been skillfully arranged as exhibition areas. Further along the stone steps, there are office areas and meeting rooms, followed by a café. The old building has been transformed by the architect’s new business, and has become more lively with a constant flow of people.

In addition, this place also has a strong musical culture. Mr. Liu Tianhua, a famous Chinese folk musician, had a close relationship with this place. Mr. Liu Tianhua, as a master of modern Chinese folk music and the originator of the erhu, composed many familiar folk music pieces. In 1917, he went to teach at a new culture school called “Seek Zhi Tang” in Jiaoxi Township with his brother, Mr. Liu Hanong, where he lectured on national music. With the cultural support of Mr. Liu Tianhua, tourists visiting this place can’t help but think of the saying that architecture is frozen music and music is flowing architecture.

The project has a unique courtyard with a variety of spatial structures. In the renovation, the main form continues the original structure, and in the overall design, the bookstore reshapes the space through “extension of space” and “reorganization of new cells”, preserving the original architectural foundation and blurring the boundaries of the surrounding elements into the space to become a new generation of the natural approach. New Life. When the sunlight passes through the windows, a city, a stone, and a tree seem to wake up in the fragrance.

As times change, people’s demand for the outside world has risen from survival to the spiritual level of aesthetics, and culture and creativity have made a variety of aesthetic choices for life, connecting various possibilities. As the first music bookstore in Jiaoxi Ancient Town, Bright Line Music Aesthetics Center hopes to create an experience of the evolution of the years in an old mansion, showing people the continuation of culture to life and a new direction of construction of cultural and creative space.

3. The River Goods∙New Department Store Innovation Center

The River Goods∙New Department Store Innovation Center is located in the Han Family Compound, with a wooden structure and a steel courtyard structure.

The main function carried by the new department store innovation center here is to display the special products of JiaoXi Ancient Town and create the exclusive IP image of JiaoXi.

The whole building is mainly for display area as the main function. In addition to meeting the rationality of the spatial flow of consumers and staff, we did not choose the conventional way in arranging the space, but minimized the seating and did not use too modern table and chair furniture. Reference to the original ecological style of Jiao Xi ancient town. When shopping or watching, we also have a more transparent and open view to observe the indoor and outdoor landscape.

The spacious exhibition hall provides space for events and exhibitions, including an indoor open area for cultural exhibitions and an outdoor steel structure for open-air displays. The open and spacious doors allow for indoor lighting and exhibitions, adding to the cultural flavor of the entire space.

The starting point for the design of the interior display space was to preserve the original feel of the space in order to emphasize the contrast between the soft delicacy of the furniture and the beautiful texture of the existing architecture. Due to the cultural and creative nature of Jiangnan Goodies, the space needed to be designed for a cultural and creative display atmosphere without losing the overall openness of the space, leading customers to roam as they move through the space.

Dale Jiaoxi is experiencing a cultural creativity and renaissance. In the Everything Grows-Ecological Art Store, a new business format is displayed. The brand new exhibition space set up in the whole building and the teaching environment on the second floor combine to make the whole building full of art and ecology; in the Bright Line-Music Aesthetics Center, the original courtyard is used to remodel and redefine the function of each space, so that the originally mediocre building gains a new life. And with the cultural background of the famous musician Mr. Liu Tianhua, it further proves that “architecture is solidified music”; in the River Goods - New Department Store Innovation Center, the newly set up exhibition space displays the local characteristics of agricultural products in Jiaoxi, and the arrangement of the entire internal space is also unique, so that it can promote the local culture and at the same time bring about the development of the economy.

Economic development.

Although each house’s business and design process is accompanied by a great deal of trial and error, such a project will attempt to create a refreshing shared space for locals and tourists, and even more so, it will allow the juxtaposition of the historical memories of the ancient town with the traces of the wisdom of the construction.