This renovation project consists primarily of two key components: a training center and a supporting hotel named Tangxin Hotel. It is situated in Tangkou Cultural and Creative Town, Kaiping City. The site occupies the former Tangkou Town Government Compound, which has been vacant for many years. It retains three original office buildings from the 1990s, located at the transition zone between the bustling market town and the countryside.
The design features a continuous landscape architectural form called “Huanqiu,” which connects and redefines both the interior and exterior spaces. Around the site boundary, a “circular hill” rises to create a flowing platform inspired by calligraphy and painting. This forms a circular pedestrian pathway that encloses a central square and an open area facing the pond.
The semi-open boundary of “Huanqiu” merges the interior and exterior environments, shaping diverse landscape interfaces that engage with the adjacent water town and rural streets. This approach reestablishes a public connection between the architectural complex and its surroundings.
The ‘Ring Hill’ facing the main street links the three preserved buildings along the street with a two-story platform, creating a continuous open street frontage. Along the pond-facing boundary, the building edges form gently rolling slopes that create a transitional gray space between the structures and the pond below.
Surrounding the central square is a gradually rising circular elevated open gallery, designed as a three-dimensional park. This space serves multiple purposes: it offers open areas and recreational facilities where visitors can enjoy views of the water town, and it provides a parent-child activity zone where children can freely run and play on the undulating slopes.
The design embraces a pragmatic, context-sensitive approach to accommodate the constraints of rural project implementation and architectural form adaptation. The renovation maintains the original facade composition of existing buildings.
For new additions, the design highlights a deliberate contrast between old and new forms, using distinct structures and materials to create a clear, legible interplay of volumes.
For expansions, a horizontally extended landscape-style arrangement was chosen, establishing the complex as a public cultural landmark within the town.
The facade is transformed through a collage of old and new elements, carefully preserving distinctive fragments from the original building. Damaged facade areas are repaired using industrialized components like steel railings and steel pipe window frames.
Innovative uses of conventional building materials reinterpret the transparent and open southern architectural character of the original facade. The red brick feature runs seamlessly through the interior and exterior surfaces of the oval-shaped lecture hall building, creating a visually striking focal point on the “Ring Hill” platform while providing a warm, natural light atmosphere inside the hall.
Project Drawings
△ General layout plan
△ First floor plan
△ Second floor plan
△ Third floor plan
△ Fourth floor plan
△ Section diagram
△ Detailed structural drawing
△ Functional zoning diagram
△ Analysis chart
△ Analysis chart
△ Streamline analysis diagram
△ Functional zoning diagram
△ Sectional perspective
△ Public space schematic
△ Original architectural drawings
Project Information
Architectural Firm: Architectural Design and Research Institute of South China University of Technology
Area: 6,000 square meters
Project Year: 2022
Photographer: Alpha Photography
Lead Architects: He Xiaoxin, Su Ping
Design Team: Zhang Han, Lin Lin, Fan Jing, Jiang Lu, Zhang Yanbin, Lai Chuncui (Architecture), Wu Chaohui, Feng Shuyin (Landscape)
Collaborative Design Partners: Guangdong Pengjiang Architectural Design Institute Co., Ltd. (Architectural and Landscape Construction Drawing Coordination), Jiangmen Hengrui Architectural Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd. (Interior Construction Drawing Collaboration)
Client: Guangdong Kaiping Cultural and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd.
Location: Jiangmen
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