Community Coming Together
The Jianamani Vistor Center is located in Yusha, Qinghai, China. It serves both visitors and locals through it's programmatic design. According to the article, a terrible earthquake hit in 2010 damaging their existing visitor center. The community gathered together (ignoring their own homes) to fix this cultural hub and anchor. Something about the building, through it's image, aesthetics, program or materials strengthens the culture and unites them. The design and form is derived by drawing visual lines from important historic sites in the surrounding area. Observation decks are constructed facing 11 different locations. Amazing how a piece of architecture is so valuable to a community and evokes such a selfless human response.
I find it fascinating that the community chose to come together and work on this one building before even working on putting their own houses back in order. I think that is telling of the community there. It is amazing how coming together with other people and creating a place that you all have ownership of can invigorate the rest of development around an area.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty neat. I also find it fascinating like Brittany but because this has also happened in Mexico with churches that for various reasons through out the years or through historical events have been destroyed and people from the community have come together to rebuild or fix them. I think there is something inherent in their sense of place and ownership that makes the community come together yet it is Architecture that has been the vehicle to provide this space. Great post!
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! This looks like a great project, it would fascinating to me to find know what causes such a deep affection for this architecture from the community... also what real projects will we have a chance to work on that could potentially contain the same significance...
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