San Sa Village / LlLab.

Architects: llLab.
Area: 1600 m²
Year: 2019
Photographs: Fernando Guerra I FG+SG
Construction Team: San She Inn (Beijing) Cultural Management Co.Ltd.
Civil Engineering Construction Team: Yi Wang and his friends
Landscape Design: Shanghai Di Cui Landscaping Co.Ltd
Construction Drawing: China Electric Design & Research Co.Ltd.
Interior Construction Team: Guobing Zhou
Furniture Consultation: cdc | brandcreation
Uniform Design / Production: carpostudio
Landscape Construction Team: Mr. Cai and his friends
Project Investor: 2049 Group
City: Beijing
Country: China

San Sa Village, designed by llLab. near the Mutianyu Great Wall, transforms a 2,000-square-meter former gas station into an inclusive rural retreat that reinterprets traditional village life. The “village within a village” design integrates seamlessly with one of China’s most beautiful villages, blending scattered architectural volumes with the local layout. Using local materials like slate, red bricks, and stone, the project emphasizes simplicity and authenticity. Developed over four years, it involved close collaboration with local villagers, combining modern methods with traditional craftsmanship. The courtyard-style design, influenced by both northern and southern typologies, fosters self-reflection and engagement with the environment, encouraging visitors to reconnect with rural life and culture.

“San Sa,” previously known as “The Third Hometown,” is a social space designed for individuals seeking a retreat from daily life to rejuvenate their mind, body, and spirit. The project is located on a 2,000-square-meter unused plot of land that was once a gas station, approximately a forty-minute walk from the Mutianyu Great Wall.

The original concept for the project focused on creating an inclusive rural oasis in a location recognized as one of China’s top ten most beautiful villages by several internationally renowned media outlets. The design aims to offer visitors a spatial and sensory experience that fosters personal renewal, partly through evoking an imagined memory of past lives. To honor the site’s heritage, the design preserved and extended the village’s existing spatial arrangement by scattering architectural blocks in alignment with the traditional village plan while integrating them into a cohesive whole. This approach established a spatial order that merges seamlessly with the local built environment. By challenging conventional notions of rural tourism resorts, the project seeks to create a “village within a village,” breathing new vitality into the land.

The concept of a “village within a village” emerged as the visions aligned and continued to evolve throughout the design and construction process, which spanned over four years.

The design of the project adheres to the fundamental elements and volumetric divisions of the original village while striving to simplify architectural details to better utilize local resources. This approach allows the design to evolve organically, shaped by the rhythm and pace of everyday life and informed by the lived experience of the building site.

In Beijing’s specific environmental context, the selection, production, and transportation of building materials presented significant challenges during construction. To address these, the project prioritized using authentic, locally sourced materials that were readily available, avoiding any ornamental or decorative additions. Observing natural elements such as wind and sunlight helped uncover these materials’ inherent wisdom and beauty. Elements like old slate for landscape paving, porous red bricks for private courtyards, stone brick joints at the base of building walls, and combining red and blue bricks for wall construction collectively emphasized the materials’ distinct qualities. Together, these choices enhanced the architectural geometry, evoking a sense of quietness and leisure.

The construction process evolved into a continuous journey of experimentation, self-pursuit, and self-reflection. The participation of local villagers was essential in grounding the village houses and integrating them into the fabric of village life. The construction team combined modern management techniques with the practices of local villagers. Through architectural design, drawings, communication, production samples, on-site testing, error correction, reinterpretation, re-production, and repeated trials, the team gradually developed a shared set of values. This collective dedication to idealistic principles played a fundamental role in the realization of San Sa.

The details of this project, while unable to fully match the ideals envisioned on paper, emerged through a process of balancing rational design intentions with the subjectivity of in-situ thinking. The most compelling aspects of San Sa’s details stemmed from the on-site communication, contradictions, conflicts, and lessons encountered during construction. These challenges, combined with experimental attempts to address uncertain outcomes, resulted in details that reflect both the complexity and the authenticity of the design process.

Architects from diverse cultural backgrounds applied their expertise and vision to carefully plan the details of the project. Over time, the construction team shifted their approach from a mindset of “typically we don’t do this, typically we do this” to gaining a deeper understanding of joints and connections through hand drawings and precise execution during the final production. This process involved learning the correct alignment of materials, exploring randomized patterning, and ultimately reaching a point where the team felt the work was not yet perfect, inspiring a spontaneous desire to continue improving. This transformation became one of the most rewarding aspects of the architectural detailing.

The design layout intentionally differentiates the ecology of its buildings and courtyards from the typical architectural forms found in North China. By addressing human-scale and social interface in place-making, the project aims to challenge conventional ways of thinking for visitors. While the continuation of culture and lifestyle is essential, the design rejects the idea of blindly adhering to traditional rules. Instead, it introduces a method that encourages those accustomed to northern spaces to engage with an environment that prompts new ways of contemplating life. The courtyards may evoke a sense of familiarity with South China or appear as a blend of northern and southern styles. Visitors might perceive a lack of privacy, yet are more likely to notice the alluring and exotic elements of the space. This design approach fosters self-reflection and promotes a deeper, conscious engagement with the environment, revitalizing the way visitors interact with rural architecture.

This “courtyard neighborhood” ecology provides an effective framework for “San Sa” to encourage visitors to reflect on their lives while fostering an appreciation for the original intent and methodology behind rural construction.

The courtyard setting represents a vision in itself. Observing a beautiful building within the serene countryside, one should resist hastily attributing its essence to “Zen” as a cliché or reducing it to a mere architectural style. The concept of Zen is far from superficial and demands thoughtful understanding and critique to honor the lives it reflects with the respect it deserves. The most profound moment of “San Sa” unfolds when sitting quietly in the courtyard, undisturbed by neighbors, gazing at the stars, and experiencing the stillness of the space to the point where time seems to fade away.