Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects

Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Interior Photography, BeamDafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Exterior PhotographyDafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Exterior PhotographyDafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Exterior PhotographyDafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - More Images+ 24

  • Architects: NEXT architects
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  48000
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2020
  • Design Team: John van de Water, Jiang Xiaofei with Gao Shuang, Kuang Wenhui, Shen Xue, Liu Wenya, Sun Yi, Lu Xiaorui, Zhu Juncheng, Zhang Chi, Ren Wanting and Yue Haiting
  • Client: Jinxi government
  • Collaborators: IVEM (Dutch Institute for Heritage and Marketing), Smartland architects, Total Design and Linda Vlassenrood
  • Partners: IEVM (Dutch Instituut for Cultural Heritage & Marketing), Smartland architects, Total Design and numerous artists
  • City: Ganzhou
  • Country: China
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Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Exterior Photography
Courtesy of NEXT architects

Text description provided by the architects. Holland Dafang Creative Village brings new life to Chinese rural area: NEXT architects combines Chinese and Dutch cultures and creativity to create unique art village China has undergone an unprecedented urbanisation process, from being a predominant rural society to having an estimated one billion Chinese living in cities in 2050. In this transformation so far, urban migration has left hundreds of thousands of villages abandoned.

Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Exterior Photography
Courtesy of NEXT architects

Many of these have dozens of generations of social, cultural and monumental value but are currently lacking major future significance. To address this challenge, NEXT architects, together with IVEM (Dutch Institute for heritage and marketing), Smartland (landscape design), Total Design (graphic design) and numerous artists were asked by the Government of Jinxi, Jiangxi Province to develop a strategy for one of its 102 abandoned villages, Dafang. NEXT architects was responsible for the masterplan, architecture and interior. “Rural revitalization is one of China’s key future developments.

Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Exterior Photography
Courtesy of NEXT architects
Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Image 18 of 29
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Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Exterior Photography
Courtesy of NEXT architects

We believe this asks for the design of balance between old and new, living and visiting, history and future.” - John van de Water, partner NEXT architects Beijing Adapting ‘newness’ Dafang has over 900 years of history but with only a few Ming and Qing Dynasty artefacts remaining, it had been dilapidated for over ten years. The Jinxi governments’ ‘wish for Dutchness to revitalise Dafang’ was translated into the design strategy: 'adapt to newness’.

Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Exterior Photography, Concrete
Courtesy of NEXT architects

NEXT architects designed a flexible and attractive environment for Chinese and Dutch artists to work, interact and exhibit locally. The whole village, including its architecture and landscape, becomes an interactive environment constantly able to re-invent itself. As a result, a new generation of visitors and inhabitants will be attracted and inspired. INTERVENTIONS Interventions are designed on three levels.

Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Exterior Photography
Courtesy of NEXT architects

Firstly, urban space, architecture and landscape are restored where possible, with new materials, creating a dialogue between old and new elements. For example: glass roof tiles are used to restore the roofs of the old houses and the ancient irrigation system has been restored adding elements such as a natural helophyte filter to clean the water. Secondly, a watchtower and public hall have been added: new building structures that take cues from on-site precedents. Ancient villages in this area all had watchtowers for defense purposes. With the original tower long gone, a new watchtower has been designed in which two intertwining routes embrace each-other, loosely resembling a giant Chinese ‘dragon column’.

Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Interior Photography, Facade, Column, Beam
Courtesy of NEXT architects

The watchtower provides alternating views over old and new in the village, as well as views as far as over the rural landscape towards the mountains at the horizon. Locally, the watchtower is embraced as the ‘Wandering Tower’, reminiscing a poem of the famous Chinese poet Li Bai about people waiting for loved ones to return to their hometowns. In the center of the village, a new public hall is realized. The hall is built on the former site of a courtyard building that was destroyed during the cultural revolution.

Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Interior Photography, Beam
Courtesy of NEXT architects

The inspiration and shape for the unique roof comes from a century-old camphor tree outside the village, whose lofty canopy for decades provided a gathering space for the villagers. The camphor hall dissolves in the fabric of the village and provides a shaded collective space. The terracotta tiled facade provides places for birds to build nests. Thirdly, there is the programming of the spaces through art and activity. A new village museum, a library and artist studios are amongst the new functions that bring new life and creativity to the village. Artist are allowed to react on the village structures: to add, change, and transform its context.

Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Exterior Photography, Aerial View Photography
Courtesy of NEXT architects

The floor of the public hall has for example been painted in a Mondrian-like pattern by a Chinese artist. Dutch artist Herman Lamers has installed an airplane in an old house, called ‘The Dream’. As a whole, Holland-Dafang Creative Village is an inspiring example of a multidisciplinary collaboration of Chinese and Dutch architects, designers and artists to bring new life to rural areas: “Holland-Dafang Village opened last month, attracting already thousands of visitors each day. We hope it will have a - positive lasting - social and cultural impact and will provide a new development model for abandoned Chinese villages,” says Jiang Xiaofei, partner NEXT architects Beijing.

Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects - Exterior Photography, Aerial View Photography
Courtesy of NEXT architects

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Project location

Address:Dafang, Dingnan County, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Dafang Creative Village / NEXT architects" 25 May 2020. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/940109/dafang-creative-village-next-architects> ISSN 0719-8884

Courtesy of NEXT architects

大坊荷兰创意村 / NEXT architects

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