The Fabric Plugin Visitor Center transforms an old village farmhouse into a local landmark by adding a prefabricated structure against the original facade. The modular system allows for rapid installation, easy customization, and replication, adapting to the unique needs of different sites.
Caijia Po Village is located at the foot of the Qinling Mountains in southern Xi’an, surrounded by expansive wheat fields. In 2018, Professor Wu Xiaochuan, alongside faculty and students from the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, established the Guan Zhong Art Cooperative and launched the Guan Zhong Mangba Arts Festival, initiating a series of rural art intervention projects. People’s Architecture Office was invited to participate in the 5th Mangba Arts Festival, contributing the Fabric Plugin Visitor Center and the interactive installation Starburst to the event.
The village's natural environment is stunning, with the continuous Qinling Mountains and villages nestled amidst expansive wheat fields. However, the village's architecture has become increasingly homogenous, making it difficult to distinguish one village from another due to the repeated building styles.
Located at the entrance of Caijia Po Village, the center provides information about the village and the Mangba Arts Festival. Its slender, translucent design distinguishes the center from traditional village architecture, setting it apart as a prominent feature in the area.
The fabric plugin visitor center is completely detached from the original building facade and can be quickly installed on the main facade or gable of the original building. In Caijia Po, the center uses seven modules, while in Liyukou Village, a smaller building requires only three.
The lightweight steel frame facade is an unobtrusive addition, leaving the original building unchanged. As an independent structure, it offers flexibility and reversibility.
The most important function of fabric plugin visitor center is its identification, which plays a role of attracting visitors. The frame facade is 8.4 meters high and is pided into three parts. The upper two-thirds are installed with oblique blue semi-permeable membranes, and the lower one-third is an open frame facade for people to enter and use.
At night, three horizontal light strips illuminate the blue membrane, enhancing nighttime visibility.
The elevated wooden deck and fabric membrane above provide sunshade, creating a comfortable outdoor rest area that extends the building’s interior space to the exterior.
The modular design and plugin strategy ensure a consistent approach to renovating old buildings across villages. Different numbers of frame units can be matched according to the width of the renovated building. Each frame unit has an independent structure, installed with membrane and lighting.
Each facade frame can be disassembled into flat component units to achieve the smallest transportation volume. The components are completely connected by sleeves and bolts, which can be quickly installed on site. The blue membrane on the front and the white membrane on the side are also installed by prefabricated parts.
Project Info:
Project Locations: Caijia Po Village, Huyi District, Xi’an; Liyukou Village
Client: Guan Zhong Mangba Arts Festival
Project Planning: Wu Xiaochuan, Song Qun, Guan Zhong Art Cooperative
Design Firm: People's Architecture Office
Design Leads: He Zhe, James Shen, Zang Feng
Design Team: Huang Jia, Qi Ji, Zhang Meng
Structural Consulting: Liu Su / Beijing Shouang Architectural Structure Studio
Design Period: April to September 2023
Completion Date: October 2023
Photography: People's Architecture Office, Guan Zhong Mangba Arts Festival Committee
Drawings: Qi Ji