Mermaid Town Reception Hall: A Harmonious Blend of Tradition and Modernity

Yue Xu's Award-Winning Design Breathes New Life into Rural China

The project draws inspiration from the unique architectural types found in the northeast of Fujian Province, such as the "earth fort", a combination of square and circle, simple in volume. This provided the foundation for the designers to build a "round sky and place" in the local context. The site, surrounded by water in the north and dotted with hills, offered a picturesque canvas for the designers to work with.

What sets the Mermaid Town Reception Hall apart is its unique use of gestalt geometry as a means to deal with the contrast between the artificial and natural. This approach has resulted in an aesthetic conception of a round sky and a square place, which is both elegant and peaceful, harmonizing perfectly with the surrounding natural landscape. This is an abstract expression of the mermaid harmonious culture, a unique feature of this design.

The exterior walls of the buildings are painted with white texture paint and hand-made gray brick, a practical strategy to deal with the inevitable construction errors of China's rapid construction. The woven hemp rope background wall in the entrance hall of the small theater is a testament to the designer's innovative approach to dealing with budget errors.

The project covers a total of 12,000 square meters and is a beneficial exploration of the direction of China's future small town construction. The building is firmly anchored in the context of the city, quietly telling Zhouning's past, present, and future. The continuous undulating roof of the tourist distribution center is a tribute to the common saddle mountain wall in the east of Fujian, unifying the order among the scattered six small units.

The Mermaid Town Reception Hall is not just an architectural marvel, but also a cultural activity center, a tourism distribution center, and a symbol of mermaid culture. This design was awarded Silver in A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award in 2020, a testament to its outstanding expertise and innovation.

Yue Xu's design is a shining example of how architecture can revitalize a community, breathing new life into rural areas while preserving and celebrating their unique cultural heritage. The Mermaid Town Reception Hall stands as a beacon of hope for the future of China's small town construction, a symbol of the harmonious blend of tradition and modernity.