Shui Cultural Center: Lightness and Heaviness

Located in Guizhou Province, the Cultural Center is a gateway to Sandu County, the land of the Shui, one of the ethnic minority groups in China. Despite being few in number, the Shui people still retains their own language, together with their unique system of pictographs. With this project West-line Studio aims to evoke Shui’s ancient culture using an iconic shape and particular materials – bronze and concrete marked by a wooden pattern – but also in recreating a holy space, able to submerge the visitor who is guided into a journey through Shui’s ancestral world. 

The whole projects reminds to their traditions and long history and architects’ aim was to translate Shui’s ancient rituals into the design, through the use of overlapping roofs, bronze, altars and in recreating a holy atmosphere. 

The site, which covers an area of 13,800 square meters, was created by a bend in the river, so it is surrounded by water on three sides. On the other, the West side, a water square welcomes the visitors guiding them to the entrance. Shui means water, which is why this element is so relevant for both the site and project. 

 Materials provided by West-line Studio
Text: Martina Muratori
Photo: © West-line Studio (Jingsong Xie, Zheng Jinda,
Yin Zhili, Kang Hongsen, Xie Haibo)

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