3452 Lousa Neighbourhood Centre, 2020

Lousa Neighbourhood Centre, Xiongan China
: Chester Chuang

Invited by Shenzhen Institute of Building Research (IBR), Studio Makkink & Bey joined the renovation plan for one of neighbourhood centres in the new area Xiongan, China.

The overall topic of the project is 'Harmony Life'. Studio Makkink & Bey renders a new community space for a new era. The neighbourhood centre is not only a place for gathering groups of activities, but also a place for inheriting and developing culture. In the form of workshops and activities, all residents are invited to participate: building a sense of belonging by co-constructing the neighbourhood square; strengthening the sense of participation of new and old residents by discussing neighbour topics; and sharing local stories to record local culture.

The centre of the space is the 'Mobile Square', composed by the 2 x 2 meter concrete-covered concrete slabs, used as the basic unit for pavement planning. According to different road function requirements, different guide lines are designed and directly drawn on the slab. Through the combination, in addition to meeting the needs of temporary paving on the site, it can also provide as a guidance for the arrangement of square objects. The elements on the square include flags, public furniture, screening installations and exercise facilities. Besides the square, a small communal courtyard next to it provides people with an enclosed space for further discussions and idea exchanges.

Furthermore, the wall drawings around the square present the blueprint of futuristic lifestyle of residents. The design of drawings on the wall is by Studio Makkink & Bey. The idea of the drawings is that we extracted human figures from old Chinese posters about ideal daily lives of people and then we added elements of nowadays technology, such as serving robots, robot dogs, iPads, satellites to create the image/blueprint of harmony life in a contemporary society.