HangZhou, China

A team made up of architects, artists, and landscape and interior designers from The Design Institute of Landscape & Architecture, China Academy of Art have achieved an ambitious rural revitalization project for Wufang Village just south of Shanghai.

Wufang Village is one of the first demonstration villages for rural revitalization in Shanghai. 

It uses the advantages of the China Academy of Art and is designed by faculty members from the five majors of planning, architecture, landscape, interior, and public art, which fully integrates art and rural design.

Wufang Village has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

Well-known Chinese painters were invited to create ‘Ten Views of Wufang Village in New Taohuayuan’ based on the future Chinese rural style in the artist’s mind. 

The subsequent planning, architectural design, and landscape design of Wufang Village are all derived from this 7.6-meter-long picture scroll. 

The architecture team was committed to improving the quality of life of rural residents and reducing the gap in the countryside caused by rapid urban development. 

For the first time, traditional Chinese painting was combined with rural planning and design. 

In the project, the architecture team used local and traditional materials, such as slate, blue brick, high lake stone, and pebbles, among other materials. 

Other ecological materials were used for construction: stones mined locally were used for road construction; original tiles were reused; discarded earthen jars were made into part of the flower bed.

The well-developed water system in Wufang Village led to the river landscape becoming the focus of the entire rural design. 

According to the direction of the river, the team re-planned the roads in the village and individually designed the appearance and materials for each bridge, from stone bridges to wooden bridges, from flat bridges to arched bridges. 

The flow of people in Wufang Village is separated from the flow of vehicles and different road designs were adopted.

The exterior wrap-around road and parking lot design meet the vehicle needs of modern life. 

The interior of the village is dominated by sidewalks so that residential life can be free from vehicle interruption. 

The layout of the buildings is in the form of small blocks with peach trees in the middle. 

The northern buildings are public buildings, such as the Village History Museum, while the central and southern parts are office buildings. 

Each functional block is clearly distinguished, and the middle is divided by peach trees to provide a quiet environment. 

The team firmly believes that the primary purpose of design, especially rural planning and design, is to improve the quality of life of residents. 

This was done not only by improving the living environment but also providing sustainable incomes to the village.

While paying attention to architecture and landscape, they actively introduced agricultural companies to develop characteristic industries in the village. 

While peach trees decorate the rural landscape, they also attract urban residents to travel and vacation. 

They expanded the planting area of the peach forest to extend it from outside the village to all parts of the village. 

The designers went one step further redesigning the packaging for the peaches in the village, modernizing their brand image and attracting younger customers. 

Project: ‘Taohuayuan’ from Painting Scroll: Wufang Village
Architects: The Design Institute of Landscape & Architecture, China Academy of Art Co., Ltd.
Art Directors: Wu Shanming and Wu Yang
Design Team: Fang Chunhui, Pei Yongze, Sun Tao, Zhang Shuai, Cheng Ying, Fu Guowei, Fu Jiaqi, and Xu Xiaolong
Structural Designers: Zhou Jianzheng, Sun Da, and Song Rui
Landscape Designers: Fang Chunhui, Pei Yongze, Cheng Ying, Zheng Xuedong,Zhang Guangyao, Peng Nana, Dong Zhengda, and Zhu Zhonghai
Interior Designers: Wu Jiang and Tang Zheng
General Contractor: Shanghai Yinteng Construction Development Co., Ltd.
Client: Wufang Village
Photographers: The Design Institute of Landscape & Architecture, China Academy of Art Co., Ltd.