![]() ![]() Tiny white pebbles were scattered like soil to surround the square where the main structures sit and from where flowers sprout as if by natural occurrence. ![]() Each paved surface is used to define the change of a space’s program or its atmosphere. As one treads along the passages, shoes against grated tiles or smooth stone, silence is lent a texture. Materiality did not manifest only as textured walls - beautifully laden and geometrically assembled as they were - but also as floor paving. Materiality manifests in both the textured walls and flooring, with palette changes used to denote variations in program or atmosphere Image: Courtesy of Weili Zhang In one semi-enclosed space, a tiered auditorium is shaded by elegant ginkgo trees. Echoing the prominence of the old stage, stone benches were placed around the site. Here a rural community was envisioned to utilise the temple ground as a place for congregation. The architecture firm Wang founded with partners Meng Yan and Liu Xiaodu has always emphasised the relationship between architecture and its context. Some prefer a more traditional methodology focusing on preserving the original building itself, without any ambitious work done around it.Īs a matter of fact, expanding the temple’s footprint as a public space beyond traditional (and unfortunately, obsolete) ceremonial function was part of the project’s aim. In fact, there have been reservations and criticism about how refurbishment was carried out. The didactic aspect suggests greater significance of the whole venture – a rare collaboration between state conservation agencies, academia and private capital. It is clear that the architect and masterminds behind the renovation intended to use landscape as a text, to educate visitors not only about the temple but the architectural tradition it hails from. There is a courtyard around the corner, featuring several large models of Chinese brackets (mostly cast-concrete, save the largest, steel-wrought one that has not aged well). One of the courtyards features large models of Chinese brackets, primarily made in cast concrete Image: Courtesy of URBANUS Steps led to a terrace looking out to a pristine landscape, where a display explains the archeological significance of the region (in particular the unearthed ruins and bronze relics belonging to the city of Wei, which existed as early as 11th century BC). Like the way up from the village plaza, circulation around the temple square is also defined by walls – brick and adobe-like ones, stretching infinitely around a nexus. The cleaning-up that began in 2013 had everything on site leveled, and a series of ramps and stairs was added around the main structures. It is not difficult to imagine the intimate dialogue between the structures when they were surrounded by only weeds and debris. The hall faces a sheltered stage constructed during the Qing dynasty. Its interior is austere, where only clay statues stand in a row. Its bracketed roof structure (known as dougong) is simple but solidly assembled. Despite its diminutive proportions, the temple’s presence is enlarged by closeness and height. Crossing a shallow pool of fine pebbles, I came to a perfectly demarcated plaza. Earth-coloured walls flank my view towards the horizon, where the temple sits upon the raised foundation like an object of veneration, its roof ridge above everything within sight. With a sharp turn along the labyrinthine walkway, I stepped onto the central axis. The institution has since been the most notable archive and guardian of China’s architectural legacy. It is worth mentioning that the said pictorials were taken from the works of Liang Sicheng, who founded the architecture school at Tsinghua University in Beijing: the alma mater of the project’s architect Wang Hui. A section of traditional timber structure was literally engraved onto the floor, a text that is hard to ignore. These chronicle the construction of China’s oldest timber structures, dating back 1,200 years, when this particular building was raised. Rather than relying only on printed materials to introduce the history of the place, as do most culturally significant sites in China, diagrams are etched into the walls. Diagrams narrating the space’s history are etched into the complex’s walls Image: Courtesy of Weili Zhang ![]()
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