Over the last couple of years, the Chinese government has been partly shifting focus towards redeveloping and sustaining the countryside, recognizing the impact of urbanization on both the urban and rural environment. Attracting rural tourism is one of the main tools utilized. Adventurous developers and private investors are now following these footsteps by taking on more and more rural redevelopment projects.
The countryside around Anshun in Guizhou province is one of the zones heavily affected by urbanization. Mostly young people have left their rural residences leaving them behind in further emptying ghost-villages. Superimpose was approached to redevelop such a village into a rural holiday retreat and bed and breakfast location for citizens.
Most of the abandoned structures could unfortunately not be reused after going through years of decay. Superimpose looked for the better-maintained structures to save them from demolition and transform them into public amenity buildings with a restaurant, gym, swimming pool, yoga studio and mountain library.
Furthermore Superimpose used the existing village footprint to develop a 41-unit B&B masterplan. The masterplan is designed in such a way that it respects the mountain landscape and resembles characteristics of the once thriving village. The masterplan layout integrated village squares and small alleys that were once vital for the community atmosphere.
The interior and exterior of the villages are designed to be suitable to the environment. The design is kept simple and calm, promoting a serene life style connected to nature. The houses are oriented to provide the best views towards the karst mountain landscape. Dealing with the hilly terrain, whilst providing comfort, safety and accessibility has been a mayor challenge during the design stages.