Flower on Hillside Community Library / STEPS ArchitectureSave this picture! Ji ZhangNujiang, ChinaArchitects: STEPS ArchitectureAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:36 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Ji Zhang Lead Architects: Wu Yu, Ji Zixiao More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. The project is located in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Town of Gongshan County of Nujiang Prefecture of Yunnan Province, deep inside Nujiang Grand Canyon. Due to high altitude, complicated terrain and isolation of Gongshan county, the traditional dwellings of Nu nationality and other ethnic groups are preserved. But with migration for infrastructure and environment, lots of such dwellings are being damaged and abandoned.Save this picture!Moreover, as Gongshan County only recently got rid of poverty in 2020, local children have less opportunities for good education. Born in Gongshan, Mr. Gan wants to make it more convenient for local children to acquire knowledge of greater world and finally step into it, for which he converted several dwellings of his family into community library for children to read and learn. Since 2016, "Flower on Hillside" community library has been the only library within a radius of 140 miles, and the number of book collection grows from 100 to more than 40,000 nowadays.Save this picture!Save this picture!To accommodate more books, Mr. Gan wanted to renovate one of the dwellings, turning it from classroom and kitchen into one reading room. The building is in the center of the village, which makes it also community center for the village. We were commissioned the task of architectural design.Save this picture!The old dwelling falls into the category of stacked wooden house with platform [1], a traditional type of dwelling of Nu nationality. This kind of dwelling is featured with two layers of structure: 1. roof structure, double pitch roof with stone plate roof tile directly touches ground with wood column, inclined beam, horizontal beams and purlin; 2. log cabin construction, round logs are stacked to create walls, which support a second-layer roof with crossing wood beams on walls and a center column. The two layers of structure are rather independent with each other, the space between the two layers of roof is used for drying crops and piling up farm tools, and the setback of log cabin wall creates grey space under the roof. Plan size is approximately 5mx5m, which is the original single-use type of space [2], with two small windows on west wall. The main functional problems with this type of dwelling are daylighting and ventilation especially for reading room, poor daylighting are bad for children's eyesight and books would become mouldy due to insufficient ventilation.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!During on-site inspection, we could speculate what Mr. Gan did in later renovation. From the perspective of plan, he divided the space into two rooms, and a separate room on the exterior side, which blocks the grey space under the roof; And from the perspective of vertical structure, he removed the second-layer roof, canceling the space between the two layers of roof, but preserved the wood beams for second -layer roof and had ceilings attached to them. He also filled the triangle-shaped gaps on two gable walls with wood boards to seal the envelope. We speculate that the reasons for him to cancel the space between the two layers of roof are the lack of need of drying crops and more vertical space on interior side, but this does not improve daylighting and ventilation. Moreover, as stone plate roof tile is no longer being made locally, he changed it into asbestos tile, which is cheaper and more popular locally, but there are gaps between tiles for water leaking.Save this picture!Save this picture!Subject to extremely low budget of 60,000 RMB and construction period of two weeks, this latest round of renovation must be very practical, spending money only on what's really important. First, in light of the good condition of the original wood structure, we removed the walls and ceilings that Mr. Gan added in later renovation, restoring the space into the state of original dwelling. This creates a 5mx5m space of comfortable and flexible reading room, restores the grey space under the roof, and protects the styles and features of the original dwelling. Because of the removal of the second-layer roof, we removed the center column that lost the function of load-bearing, and kept the crossing beams for installation of eye-protection LED tubes.Save this picture!Second, we need to deal with daylighting and ventilation. We inserted high windows along the top of the log cabin walls. Roof is the key, we preserved the inclined beams, replaced the purlins and added a sky window. The high window on the wall and sky window on the roof improve daylighting significantly. Different with the high window that is sealed with transparent PC sheets, the sky window is hollow without sealing, which serves as ventilation shaft. To prevent fallen leaves entering interior space, white gauze mesh is installed on sky window.Save this picture!The new wood structure is completely made of 4x8 lumber that are common in local building material markets, and is quickly built in several days with skilled and proficient local construction workers. Roof material is also replaced with long resin tile that are less likely to leak. The red resin tile, along with red metal gutter, visually detach the new roof from the old wood structure. For interior space, red furniture and wood structure form warm and harmonious atmosphere.Save this picture!Save this picture!This little house reminds us of "The Primitive Hut" concept brought up by Laugier, who points out the simple yet essential core of architecture: a man in nature and the need for shelter, with only what is really necessary to build.[1] Ji Jing. A study on the traditional dwellings of the Lisu nationality in Nujiang, Yunnan Province[D]. Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 2016: 72-74.[2] Liu Ke. Study on the renewal design of traditional wooden house in Nujiang Prefecture of Yunnan Province[D]. Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2021:17Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Yunnan, ChinaLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeSTEPS ArchitectureOfficeMaterialWoodMaterials and TagsPublished on February 28, 2025Cite: "Flower on Hillside Community Library / STEPS Architecture" 28 Feb 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1027318/flower-on-hillside-community-library-steps-architecture&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save? / STEPSYou've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream