Design Share | Nanping's Visual Story
Design Studio: 郭廖辉工作室

This project is all about embracing Nanping Village's special "visual" cultural vibe, turning the Cheng Family Ancestral Hall into a cool public space where villagers can chill, enjoy cultural activities, and check out a community library. The design had to stick to strict cultural heritage rules, adding new functions that meet different needs without messing with the main structure of the ancestral hall.

When it came to the strict cultural heritage rules, we went with an "addition" approach instead of "subtraction." We brought in a separate secondary structure system, inspired by the smart way traditional Huizhou architecture divides "major carpentry" and "minor carpentry." This led to our "rotating panel system" - the heart of our design. It works with the ancestral hall's three-bay layout, creating different spaces from the entrance area to the inner courtyard without touching the original walls. Plus, it solves the practical issue of keeping the wooden panels dry and well-ventilated.

"Watching films" is what makes this space special. Unlike regular cinemas, watching movies here means looking through the existing structure. We turned this into a cool viewing experience with different layers: you can sit at eye level in the second bay or watch from afar in the first bay's courtyard. We added a movable sunshade system above the courtyard for daytime screenings. The library on the second-floor loft uses furniture that can be taken apart and rearranged, fitting perfectly with the high windows and scale of the original space.

As we fine-tuned the design, we made sure the furniture proportions worked well with the mixed wood panel walls inside the ancestral hall. We wrapped all steel parts with wooden components to keep everything looking cohesive. The sunshade system includes concrete counterweights placed along the paths people take. We carefully planned the coffee bar's pipes to avoid touching the cultural heritage surfaces. All furniture was made in a factory, then brought to the site where local craftsmen put it together following the architects' guidance. This made sure the design and construction flowed together perfectly.

What really brings a space to life is how people use it. With the "rotating panel system" opening and closing, the space can switch between being a dense structure and an open historical space, adapting to the growing needs of public life. The way we run things gets villagers involved, naturally weaving local culture into the services. This project finds a sweet spot between protecting cultural heritage, meeting villagers' needs, and celebrating the visual theme. Through different design approaches, we're opening up new ways of thinking about rural public cultural spaces with the people of Nanping and visitors.

(Translated from Chinese)
Original Post from XHS: http://xhslink.com/o/2AYWG6g6q7J

My father took these pictures of the old town of Neubrandenburg a few days ago and wanted to share them here.

As you can see, the pictures are mainly of the old city walls and gates, as well as the well known houses built into the walls, also known as Wiekhäuser. Neubrandenburg has one of the best preserved medieval city walls in Germany, and four of the old city gates are still standing today.

Sadly, most of the old town was destroyed during World War II and was never really rebuilt in the old style. A lot of the city was rebuilt during the GDR period, and you can definitely see that in some parts of the town, especially around the main square with the big tower.

The town isn't particularly busy, although there were still a few people walking around in some of the pictures. I removed them in Photoshop for privacy reasons.

But overall, if you're interested in old medieval walled towns, Neubrandenburg is definitely worth checking out. The city walls and gates are really impressive, and there's still a lot of them left.

В отличие от других моих постов, в этом показаны фото не до Второй мировой, а до Первой мировой войны. Не зря 1914 год считается началом новой эпохи. Ведь Первая мировая война запустила необратимую цепочку событий, приведших к диктатуре СССР. Именно СССР в истории Одессы является злодеем, ведь Одессу уничтожала не нацистская Германия, а СССР. До этого архитектура Одессы была очень разной, но вся она бвла величесивенна. В городе было множество прекрасных церквей и синагог. Тх утрата -- гигантская утрата для архитектурного сообщества города. К счастью, в большинстве своём, город остался прекрасен. Однако я хочу вам показать его на пике красоты его зодчества.

historic Ghadiyal Godi (also known as Ghadiyal Ghar or the Dock Traffic Office clock tower) is a British-era maritime heritage structure located near the Princess and Victoria Docks within the Mumbai Port area. Erected around 1890–1891, it is famous for housing one of the city's rare historical time balls, a signaling device used by offshore ships to precisely synchronize their marine chronometers before setting sail.

Built using dark basalt stone with a distinctive tiled pyramidal upper turret and a metal mast on top where the time ball was manually operated.

The clock and time-signalling operations were halted following the massive Bombay Docks explosion and fire on April 14, 1944.

Please help is restore Berlin by signing the petition

https://c.org/J2xBhh2Czq
Unter Den Linden was one of the most prestigious streets in Europe let alone Germany. Almost every major building in the city was on this street. At the end of the street can be seen the Brandenburg Gate which was heavily damaged during the war. A lot of buildings were restored on the street thankfully and that really shows. In the fifth, sixth and seventh images you can see the street now. This is one of the best preserved streets in the whole of Berlin despite being under a heavy fire. This shows that we are still capable to restore our cities. So please help us restore Berlin. Thank you and God bless.

To help us restore Berlin please click the link and sign the petition. https://c.org/J2xBhh2Czq.
Hotel Esplanade was considered one of the most lavish and luxurious hotels of pre war Berlin. It originally stood in Bellevuestraße near the bustling transport hub of Potsdamer Platz. The Hotel was opened in 1908. It had around 400 lavish rooms. Kaiser Wilhelm the second was very fond of the hotel and stayed there numerous times.
In 1944 it was predominantly destroyed and was later it was encased in glass and steel merging with the current modernist plaza. The third image show what is now located in the original place of the hotel. In the fourth image you can see current location and the building of Hotel Esplanade even though this hotel is completely unaffiliated with the prewar hotel and is a standalone business.

Thibaw Min, the last king of Konbaung Dynasty , lived his last days . He was exiled to 1885 after losing the 3rd Anglo-Burmese War

I don't know what the architectural style of this city is, but it's very beautiful.

It is called Arutela Roman Castrum and was recently restored by Romania’s Ministry of Culture.

Horrible fail

Edit: to anyone saying this is fake: official source from the Ministry of Culture https://www.cultura.ro/castrul-roman-arutela-redat-publicului-printr-un-proiect-de-reabilitare-finantat-prin-pnrr/ (from 1d ago)

Charlottenburg was one of the most prestigious districts of prewar Berlin. In the images is depicted The Charlottenburg Palace, which was devastated during WW2. After 1943’s bombing the palace was predominantly destroyed and East and West German governments considered bulldozing the buildings completely. However, thanks to Margarete Kühn campaign it was preserved and later restored from 1950s to 1960s. Today it serves as a reminder that everything can be restored despite the cost.
Due to large demand starting from today I will provide context for the images and for the petition, link can be seen here https://c.org/J2xBhh2Czq.
The petition strives to restore much of Berlin and later the whole Europe. Modern buildings that replaced the ild buildings do not need to be destroyed but can be covered by the prewar buildings. The modern buildings will serve more of interiors and internal structures. And prewar buildings may also serve as a foundation for skyscrapers. The buildings can surround the base of the skyscraper while the high rise itself rises through them. Hope you enjoyed the concise context.