LI WENXI ARCHITECTS

Shanchuan Township, surrounded by mountains, which is located at the southernmost tip of Anji County, Hangzhou City, China. We designed a police room at the entrance of the local central elementary school and served as the entrance node to its hot spring resort.

Architecture is a special kind of living body. When it begins to talk to the horizon, it will gain a transcendental power. This power creates an atmosphere that is intoxicating. This time we hope to use a small building to deeply embed a high pitch in the earth movement.

1. Making the Mountains Enter the Embrace
I think that when people in the building are looking at the distant mountains, their body should be in a state of being "wrapped by the earth." The human ancestors had an initial dialogue with nature in this state.

So we decided to use the "vertical hole" as the first action of the design, that is, to bury a part of the architecture underground. So how much is the depth of the burial? After several simulations, it was finally set at one meter.

In this way, before seeing the distant mountains, people must first enter the coverage of the building, and at the same time enter the ground not so deep, to ensure that the upper body is above the ground, thus creating a spatial experience that body blends with the rolling landscape.

In order to realize this effect, some technical problems need to be overcome in the actual construction process. For example, large-scale excavation may cause groundwater seepage, and the structural designer adjusted the scheme to respond to the building operation with a holistic foundation.

2. Red, Beyond Only the Color of Red
We are always looking for a medium to make nature appear. Seeking color contrast from materials is an opportunity to achieve this. Red is an infectious color, with obvious emotional tendencies, red ceramic tiles as the roof, red steel curtain wall system as the skin, red terrazzo as the ground, the red of this series of differences makes the red transcend the color of red, which echoing the distant green hills, and the green hills are also reflected in the red architecture.

3. The Rhythm of the Outline
The ups and downs of the distant mountains provide the basis for the turning of the building roof. From the north side of the playground, the roof gradually enters the ground and merges into the site. From the south side of the road, the building is facing up and welcoming the passing people. This rhythm change is consistent with the context of the site as well as the hidden functional appeal.

After the completion of the building, whether it is the parents who pick up the children, the friends who traveled into the mountains, or the villagers who returned from the field, they are willing to stop here. It is like a high voice, facing the sun, facing the distant mountains, playing the prelude to the happy life of the town residents.