For Teacher Yang, the public welfare project of building homes for the community represents an opportunity for meaningful change. For Nameless Construction Society, it marks a breakthrough in exploring deeper cultural roots. What stands before us is a vision of “harmony in diversity, beauty in unity.”
Guiliu Village lies in Zaima Town, Rongjiang County, within the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou Province. It is a multicultural minority village where Miao and Dong ethnic groups coexist. Nestled deep in the mountains and surrounded by natural beauty, the village maintains its traditional character. The client, Mr. Yang, is a teacher at Guiliu Village Primary School actively involved in public welfare efforts related to Dong language education and cultural preservation. As the ancestral houses had become dilapidated and collapsed, the project called for rebuilding a family home on the original site.
Construction Strategy
1. Exploring Brick and Wood Hybrid Structures
Responding to the community’s preference for brick and wood construction, Nameless designed a hybrid structure combining these materials. This approach addresses the limitations of traditional wooden buildings—such as poor thermal insulation, fire vulnerability, material erosion, limited lifespan, and maintenance challenges—while also improving upon brick and concrete houses that often lack adaptability to local climate conditions, especially regarding moisture resistance and ventilation.
This brick-wood hybrid design offers a fresh perspective on local housing, allowing a balance between tradition and modernity to be explored within the community.
2. Connecting Upper and Lower Spaces with Intersecting Public Areas
The building is organized into three vertical levels. The ground floor is a brick and concrete residential space for a family of four, including three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. The second floor functions as an open public cultural exchange area, supporting activities such as cultural interaction, study, group dining, leisure tea breaks, and handicraft experiences. This space serves both the family and visiting groups for social and educational activities. The third floor provides independent accommodation and service facilities, designed for future commercial use, targeting urban parent-child education institutions and research groups. The rooms are configured as collective dormitories with loft-style bunk beds utilizing the high-pitched wooden roof space. A large staircase visually and functionally links these public areas to encourage collective interaction.
Constructed with wood, the second and third floors create a transition zone that separates the private residential space below from the more public, business-oriented area above. The second floor’s transparent glass walls blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, fostering connections with the village, inviting dialogue between villagers and internal activities, and enhancing natural light and ventilation throughout the building.
Flanking the large three-level staircase leisure area are loft-style bunk beds arranged within the accommodation rooms. The high ceilings formed by the dual-pitched roof maximize dormitory capacity, while the staggered bunk beds create an inviting and aesthetically pleasing environment for children and youth.
3. Creating a Three-Dimensional Vertical Circulation to Engage Users
The design centers on a three-dimensional vertical circulation system that integrates three staggered elevated spaces, connecting various functional areas. Exterior features such as roof skylights, open balconies, and transparent facades facilitate interaction between the building and the village.
The main entrance is situated on the second floor, accessed via a large stepped platform that serves as an outdoor vertical transition from the first floor. This welcoming entrance not only enhances the spatial experience but also offers a friendly, inclusive area facing the village. It doubles as an outdoor classroom for Teacher Yang’s public welfare educational programs for left-behind children and provides a resting spot for villagers passing by.
Inside, the second floor unfolds as a spacious, open area without enclosing walls, creating a free-flowing communication zone. Large glass windows enclose the building’s facade, blurring indoor and outdoor boundaries and reinforcing the connection between the building’s interior and the surrounding landscape.
4. Infusing Contemporary Spirit into Traditional Wooden Architecture
A tall, spiraling wooden staircase ascends from the second to the third floor, encircling a vertical display area showcasing Dong ethnic artifacts collected by Teacher Yang. The double-sloped roof creates a lofty space that exposes the wooden structure, celebrating the aesthetic and spatial richness of local timber architecture.
At the building’s core lies a large stepped public area, with vertical walls on either side accentuating the height and openness. This space supports dormitory functions and serves as a versatile social hub for communication, games, tea ceremonies, meetings, and reading. Above, a large triangular skylight breaks with traditional wooden architecture, providing ample natural light and ventilation while injecting a contemporary sense of vitality and freedom into the space.
Outside the three-story public space, an open-air curved terrace offers the only direct outdoor access. Adapted to an irregular foundation, the building’s overall form is also irregular, with a deliberately protruding curved terrace that complements the building’s shape. This design enriches the building’s character and enhances physical interaction between users and the surrounding environment.
Whether through the upward movement of internal space or the dynamic external form, the building speaks both to its site context and to a modern architectural language and attitude.
Conclusion
The Guiliu Yangzhai project represents a significant local initiative by Nameless Construction Society and marks a turning point in the studio’s design philosophy. Unlike previous public and commercial projects, rural residential design offers a more immediate understanding of local culture, needs, and possibilities for rural revitalization.
This project better aligns with rural development realities and addresses the aspirations of ordinary people for improved living conditions.
On revisiting the Guiliu Yangzhai home, the space had been thoughtfully furnished to reflect Mr. Yang’s aesthetic and lifestyle. Carefully arranged flowers, Dong ethnic decorations, and hand-dyed bedding all express his positive outlook on life—an attitude that continues to evolve with nature, time, and space itself.
As we prepared to leave, we met Mr. Yang’s daughter returning from the county. She said: “Finally, I have a home in Guiliu.” This simple statement is the greatest reward for us. Yet, as architects, we remain driven by a sense of ongoing improvement, and Yangzhai stands as a new beginning for serving the local community through design.
Project Drawings
△ Design Requirements
△ Conceptual Scheme Sketch
△ Conceptual Scheme Sketch
△ Conceptual Scheme Sketch
Concept Sketch
Concept Sketch
Concept Sketch
△ Type Deliberation Sketch
△ Type Deliberation Sketch
Research on Brick and Wood Building Forms in Southeastern Guizhou
Project Information
Project Name: Rongjiang County / Guiliuyang Residence
Location: Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, China
Duration: December 2019 – July 2021
Area: 326 square meters
Materials: Red Brick, Concrete, Genuine Stone Paint, Cedar, Small Blue Tile
Design Firm: Nameless Construction Society
Lead Architect: Chen Guodong
Resident Architect: Li Jinxin
Design Team: Lai Jiawei, Jiang Xingyu, Hu Mingrui (Intern)
Owners: Yang Hui, Shi Jin
Construction Team: Jiang Jijun’s Team
Ink Master Team: Wu Liangyu, Wu Bangjie, Yang Shenggui
Architectural Photography: Iwatani Studio – Zhao Sai
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