This is a renovation project. The site is located on the farm land of the Shangri-La in Yunnan province. This is a region dominated by the Tibetan people. Traditional culture and life style has been well maintained in the villages. In terms of program, the three original vernacular farmhouses are arranged was a bookstore, a souvenir shop with a dormitory and a cafeteria. After carefully surveying the existing structure, we decided to keep most part of them, including the original timber structure and rammed earth facade. However, we replaced the original shingle roof with a light steel structure and polycarbonate panels to introduce enough sunlight into the interior. Consequently, the original domestic architecture obtains the certain quality of being a public space. The curtain system underneath the polycarbonate panels can be controlled to adjust the amount of light and warmth into the interior according to the change of weather or climate.
We add a concrete ramp or stairs to each building, and a architectural promenade is created to related the interior spaces with the grand view of the surrounding landscape.