Architects: UP Architecture
Area: 338 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Archi-Translator
Lead Architect: Zhou Chao
Category: Hospitality Architecture
Design Team: Deng Kechao, Luo Junxian, Xie Ding, Wang Xingrui
City: Suizhou
Country: China
Sui County Hemei Center rural revitalization project designed by China Foundation for Rural Development in Suixian County, Hubei has regenerated idle architecture to foster rural tourism and community development through adaptive reuse and spatial transformation. Completed in collaboration with five villages, the project connects them via a continuous greenway loop, converting abandoned houses and cultural landmarks into cycling stations, heritage museums, cafés, and art restaurants. Through light architectural interventions, local construction methods, and participatory planning, the project reinforces village identity, generates employment, and supports agricultural circulation. The architecture acts as an interactive system of rural nodes, advancing a model of community co-creation and cultural preservation aimed at scalable replication throughout the Dahongshan region.
Sui County Hemei Center is a rural revitalization demonstration project developed by the China Foundation for Rural Development in partnership with five villages across three towns in Suixian County, Hubei. The initiative aims to support the development of the Dahongshan Scenic Area and enhance local tourism. It is rooted in the concept of “Harmonious and Beautiful Villages,” creating a greenway loop that links the villages while transforming disused assets—such as abandoned homes and assembly halls—into cycling stations, rural museums, leisure courtyards, cafés, and art restaurants. This configuration builds an interconnected rural network that promotes regional economic development.
The project focuses on reactivating idle rural resources:
- A red-brick house in Yujiawan was repurposed as a cycling station providing resting points along the loop.
- A former assembly hall in Zhenzhuquan Village became a museum dedicated to intangible cultural heritage.
- The former site of a Qing Dynasty temple in Chang’andian was adapted into a café, juxtaposing rammed-earth walls with timber construction.
- A collapsed residence was rebuilt into an art restaurant integrating steel frames and existing greenery.
These five rehabilitated buildings are linked by the greenway and operate as urban-rural interaction nodes. They support agricultural product circulation, generate local employment, and promote equitable development.
The design follows an anthropological methodology combining interdisciplinary collaboration and three primary strategies:
- Spatial Reconfiguration – Emphasizing functional revitalization while maintaining site memory:
- The cycling station preserves the L-shaped layout and incorporates a ginkgo courtyard.
- The leisure courtyard retains traditional typology, supplemented with rooftop terraces and guest spaces for events and tourism.
- Appropriate Construction – Using local materials and low-tech solutions:
- The courtyard complex includes 300mm-thick red-brick composite walls to improve insulation.
- The café pairs glued-laminated timber with rammed-earth walls to merge heritage and utility.
- Light Intervention – Ensuring flexibility through minimal alterations:
- The art restaurant stabilizes ruined stone walls with steel frameworks and integrates vegetation.
- The museum introduces polycarbonate-wrapped steel structures, coexisting with original wooden trusses.
Community involvement spans planning through to operations. For instance, the leisure courtyard’s partnership model encourages youth entrepreneurship, establishing a cycle of “design–construction–operation.” Each architectural node functions as a development catalyst, enabling greenway-based economies and strengthening cultural exchange.
By supporting intangible cultural heritage, community engagement, and creative industries, the project converts built space into an urban-rural interface. The café functions as a social hub, the art restaurant contributes to cultural-tourism, and the museum enables educational programming. This model of “revitalizing idle resources + community co-creation” has become a prototype in Suixian County and is under consideration for expansion to other villages in the Dahongshan region.
Sui County Hemei Center uses architecture to drive a replicable strategy for rural transformation, rooted in social equity, cultural continuity, and shared construction.
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Project Location
Address: Suizhou, China
The location specified is intended for general reference and may denote a city or country, but it does not identify a precise address.
