Places in time: Public space practices for dynamic being in rural China
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Other Title
Authors
Wang, Hongyu
Author ORCID Profiles (clickable)
Degree
Master of Architecture (Professional)
Grantor
Unitec, Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology
Date
2025
Supervisors
Jadrešin Milić, Renata
Su, Bin
Su, Bin
Type
Masters Thesis
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
Tianjin (China)
China
rural communities
public spaces
vernacular architecture
architecture and culture
water as metaphor
Chinese architecture
China
rural communities
public spaces
vernacular architecture
architecture and culture
water as metaphor
Chinese architecture
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
Wang, H. (2025) Places in time: Public space practices for dynamic being in rural China (Unpublished document submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional)). Unitec, Te Pūkenga - New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology
https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6941
Abstract
RESEARCH QUESTION
How can architectural interventions create sustainable public cultural spaces in rural China to enhance the dynamic being between people and architecture?
ABSTRACT
Amid China’s rural revitalization campaign, this project explores adaptive reuse strategies for abandoned buildings and idle spaces in ShuangZha Village, Tianjin. The interventions include a historic water tower, a former village clinic, a vacant lot formed from a filled sewage pond, and mobile ritual spaces modified from trucks—each responding to rural transformation across both material and spiritual dimensions.
While improvements in infrastructure and living standards have rendered some original facilities obsolete, challenges such as cultural loss, population aging, and spatial hollowing persist. Guided by the existential framework of Dynamic Being, the project takes “water”— its memory, use, sharing, and flow—as a narrative thread to reweave connections among people, place, and ritual. Through historical research, field surveys, and spatial interventions, it proposes a design strategy that both restores physical environments and revitalizes ecological perception and collective identity.
Ultimately, the project outlines a rural cultural regeneration model rooted in locality and attuned to change. Drawing on Heidegger's thinking, architecture is framed not as a tool of control but as a restrained, embedded practice—an act of care that acknowledges fragility and expresses love for both people and land. It asks how spatial practice can quietly sustain the continuity of rural life—not only by repairing what is seen, but by nurturing what is felt, remembered, and shared.
GLOSSARY
1. 乡愁 (Xiāng Chóu) – "Nostalgia" The profound longing for one's homeland or past.
2. 小站稻 (Xiǎo Zhàn Dào) – "Xiaozhan Rice" A premium variety of glutinous rice known for its fragrant and tender quality.
3. 炕 (Kàng) – "Heated Brick Bed" A traditional Chinese heated sleeping platform that provides warmth in winter.
4. 囍 (Xǐ) – "Double Happiness" A traditional symbol representing marital bliss and celebration.
5. 福 (Fú) – "Blessing/Good Fortune" A cultural symbol denoting auspiciousness and prosperity.
6. 摊场 (Tān Chǎng) – "Threshing Floor" An open area for grain threshing and sun-drying.
7. 上善若水 (Shàng Shàn Ruò Shuǐ) – "The Highest Virtue is Like Water" A philosophical concept suggesting that supreme goodness flows naturally like water, nourishing without contention.
8. 饮水思源 (Yǐn Shuǐ Sī Yuán) – "When Drinking Water, Remember Its Source" An idiom emphasizing gratitude and remembering one's roots when benefiting from others' contributions.
9. 水到渠成 (Shuǐ Dào Qú Chéng) – "When Water Flows, a Channel Forms Naturally" A proverb meaning success comes naturally when conditions are ripe.
10. 逝者如斯 (Shì Zhě Rú Sī) – "All Things Pass Like the Flowing River" A philosophical observation about the transient nature of time, encouraging appreciation of the present moment.
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