The winners of the thirteenth Architizer A+Awards have been introduced! Looking forward to subsequent season? Keep updated by subscribing to our A+Awards E-newsletter.
For a few years throughout totally different cultures, museums have helped folks bear in mind who they’re. They hold vital tales from the previous, assist us perceive the current and picture the longer term. Most individuals consider museums as giant, fancy buildings with shiny flooring and outdated treasures. However what actually issues is how museums assist folks really feel related to their roots. The fashionable museum, nevertheless, is usually often known as an area with pristine white partitions, the place reminiscence is frozen behind a vitrine and framed for passive contemplation. There’s a widespread assumption that they’re cosmopolitan, city landmarks. For the previous a number of many years, museums have been designed as flashy monuments which are typically set aside from the remainder of the town and directed at worldwide audiences.
But, museums are usually not simply locations for storing objects; they’re instruments for remembering. They maintain onto the recollections of individuals, locations and on a regular basis life, particularly in communities the place traditions are fading. On this manner, museums turn out to be dwelling components of a tradition. They’ll spark delight, belonging, and understanding, not solely of historical past, however of identification. This concept is much more potent in rural areas, the place change typically comes shortly and quietly. In villages, outdated buildings disappear, elders cross away, and tales that have been as soon as advised by phrase of mouth may be misplaced in only one era. A museum affords a technique to defend these tales, not by freezing time, however by rigorously bringing the previous into the current by way of design, storytelling and shared experiences.
One nice instance of that is the Rural Reminiscence Museum in Fengwu Village, which was awarded because the Well-liked Alternative Winner within the Structure + Localism class for the thirteenth Architizer A+Awards. In a village the place a lot had been forgotten, this museum brings reminiscence again to life, not simply by wanting again, however by giving folks an area to collect, mirror and reconnect and construct a shared future.
A Village in Want
Rural Reminiscence Museum by IARA, Fengwu Village, China | Well-liked Alternative Winner, Structure + Localism, thirteenth Architizer A+Awards
Fengwu is in Huangshan Metropolis’s Yixian County, near the well-known historical villages of Xidi and Hongcun. It has lovely surroundings, but it surely has confronted many challenges. In contrast to its neighbors, Fengwu didn’t have historic buildings to guard. Over time, many individuals moved away, the inhabitants grew older, and the village grew to become quiet. Public areas have been empty, and native traditions began to vanish.
In 2023, a venture referred to as “Fengwu JI” started. The aim was to carry life again to the village utilizing good design and by together with the neighborhood. Structure wasn’t nearly constructing issues, it was about telling tales and therapeutic the soul. Central to this venture was the Rural Reminiscence Museum, designed by IARA. In contrast to the indifferent, climate-controlled galleries of city establishments, the Rural Reminiscence Museum invitations mud, footsteps and dialogue; it’s much less a container for objects than it’s a stage for all times.
A New Life for an Previous Web site
Rural Reminiscence Museum by IARA, Fengwu Village, China | Well-liked Alternative Winner, Structure + Localism, thirteenth Architizer A+Awards
On the middle of the village, there was once a constructing referred to as Yingfengli, which now not exists. All that remained was a sq. with exercise gear and no shelter from the solar or rain. The brand new museum was constructed on this identical spot, to not copy the outdated constructing, however to carry its spirit again in a brand new manner.
The architects used the identical form and measurement as the unique constructing. They selected native supplies and types to make sure the museum would match naturally into the village. It doesn’t attempt to stand out, it feels prefer it belongs. However nonetheless, it makes a quiet, robust assertion: this can be a place for reminiscence. The elevated base and J-shaped plan permit the constructing to perform as a hybrid typology — a veranda, museum and plaza — mixing home and civic qualities. It’s a spatial idea that echos these of conventional houses on this a part of China, however as an alternative of turning inward like outdated courtyards, it opens as much as invite folks in. It shares area with close by houses and a clinic, exhibiting how public areas may be versatile and shared.
Constructing with Historical past
Rural Reminiscence Museum by IARA, Fengwu Village, China | Well-liked Alternative Winner, Structure + Localism, thirteenth Architizer A+Awards
From the skin, the museum’s white partitions look identical to the outdated village buildings. Inside, it makes use of mild wooden to create a peaceful and heat feeling. The design mixes outdated and new, gray roof tiles and wooden carry the previous to thoughts, whereas fashionable methods make it contemporary. The partitions are comprised of river sand, lime and cement, they usually’ve been aged by hand to appear like they’ve been there for years. The picket panels have been burned barely, a technique that protects the wooden and provides it a deep, wealthy colour. These supplies assist folks really feel the previous by way of contact, not simply sight.
Contained in the museum, there are three major areas that every inform part of the village’s story. The Rural Reminiscence Corridor is a gallery stuffed with tales and private objects donated by villagers, highlighting on a regular basis life and traditions. The Way forward for the Village Corridor is a vivid, open room with giant home windows that supply views of the panorama, inviting guests to mirror on what lies forward. Lastly, the Time Field is a small, darkish screening room lit by a single lightbulb, making a peaceable area for considerate moments and quiet reflection.
Rural Reminiscence Museum by IARA, Fengwu Village, China | Well-liked Alternative Winner, Structure + Localism, thirteenth Architizer A+Awards
In spirit, the museum recollects the civic humility of Lina Bo Bardi’s SESC Pompeia or Wang Shu’s Ningbo Historical past Museum — areas that make reminiscence tactile, not summary. The Rural Reminiscence Corridor, now dwelling to private gadgets donated by villagers — issues that inform tales about their lives — is very touching. The place most museums separate artifact from person, this one repositions on a regular basis objects as cultural anchors — creating what the architects name the ‘Poetry of Life.’ It offers new that means to on a regular basis issues, and helps folks really feel happy with their shared historical past.
Even earlier than it formally opened, the museum grew to become a preferred gathering place. Two large neighborhood meals have been held underneath its roof. Now, folks use the area for weddings, funerals, festivals and extra. It’s a museum, but additionally a public sq. and a cultural coronary heart. On the grand opening, the entire village got here collectively once more to share a meal. It was greater than a celebration, it was an indication that one thing vital had returned. The village had discovered its spirit once more. Reminiscence had come dwelling.
The winners of the thirteenth Architizer A+Awards have been introduced! Looking forward to subsequent season? Keep updated by subscribing to our A+Awards E-newsletter.
