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The tulou is a traditional building typology in China’s southeast Fujian Province. Built between the 15th and 20th centuries, these technically sophisticated, self-sustainable defensive buildings document how the indigenous Hakka and Minnan people lived and fought for centuries. Constructed around an open central courtyard, the tulou had only one entrance and the windows onto the exterior were always above the first floor. It housed a whole clan, the different units making up a real village. In 2008, 46 of these buildings were listed as Unesco World Cultural Heritage sites. Despite this, however, thousands have been abandoned as a result of the region’s economic development in recent decades. Today, often in a state of grave disrepair, they testify to the flight from the countryside. Efforts to revive abandoned tulou structures are multifaceted, involving the social commitment of an architecture practice, and people interested in preserving the province’s cultural heritage and rural practices.
Since 2020, me and my office DnA_Design and Architecture have been collaborating with the local communities and administrations of Zhangzhou City across three counties: Nanjing, Hua’an, and Pinghe. Seven tulou buildings were selected as examples of adaptive reuse, transforming the original communal living spaces into new community centers with public programs tailored to the village context. The addition of a courtyard, gardens or viewing terraces has transformed these derelict structures into a new typology, giving these examples of vernacular architecture a new lease of life as a ruin. Scattered like a constellation across the landscape, the seven projects ‒ Binyang, Cuimei, Jinshi, Qifeng, Shengping, Shide, and Zhaihe ‒ have led to a greater awareness of these ancient, sophisticated infrastructures. They were also presented at a significant exhibition at the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine in Paris entitled Tulou du Fujian ‒ Architectures revisitées par Xu Tiantian / DnA.
In September 2023, after winning the BSI Swiss Architectural Award, I was invited to teach at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio in Switzerland during the autumn semester of 2023. As part of the design course, students were invited to participate in an immersive journey to the rural village of Pushan in Fujian province. For one week, 21 Swiss students had a first unique opportunity to visit China, meet with village residents, and explore the region’s vernacular architectural heritage. The cultural exchange was continued for the full 14-week semester. Students completed the design of nine projects for three intervention areas. The primary aim of each project is to enhance the well-being of the Pushan community with the creation of public spaces catering for both residents and visitors. In turn, the projects helped students gain a deep understanding of a social cultural context not their own as they developed possible collective design solutions.
Again, with synergy in mind, three young international architecture practices ‒ XBTW Office, Dai Falk, and Davide Contran ‒ took their cue from my studio’s adaptive reuse projects to develop collective programs under my curatorship to regenerate rural abandoned structures near three significant tulou in Hua’an County ‒ Rixin, Shengping, and Qiyun – providing for the specific needs of the local community. The collective renovation approach encourages young practitioners to engage with ancient architectural heritage and thereby reducing the need for new construction, conserving resources, and contributing to the revitalization of rural areas.
The transformation of disused buildings into vibrant functional spaces has fostered the creation of more dynamic, welcoming environments in these rural contexts.
깟捺짜 ‒ Binyang Tulou
The town of Banzai in the county of Pinghe – established by Chinese philosopher Wang Yangming (1472-1529) during the Ming Dynasty (1348-1644) ‒ is known as the birthplace of the renowned scholar and author Lin Yutang (1895-1976).
As well as hosting Yutang’s original home, Banzai also boasts seven tulou structures, making it an important cultural location. One of these, the Binyang, is a typical circular Minnan structure where, in contrast to a Hakka one, each row house is separated by partition walls and there are often a secondary entrance, an internal courtyard and staircases. Like other tulou in Pinghe County, the Binyang one was abandoned when the residents moved away and fell into ruin.
The design proposal aims to renovate the abandoned complex and convert it into a community center with a unique library offering cultural programs dedicated to the scholar Yutang. The ruins and crumbling walls were not rebuilt but carefully cleared to become a courtyard and garden for reading and socialization. Likewise, the trees that have grown up among the rubble have been preserved and become an integral part of the new site.
답쳄짜 ‒ Cuimei Tulou
Situated in the village of Pushan in Nanjing County, which is home to the Unesco-listed Hegui Tulou and the Shide Tulou remains, the Cuimei Tulou is a typical circular structure built in 1930. Most of the internal units now lie vacant and very few inhabitants still live there. Its location next to the Jinshi Tulou makes it a potential site for new mixed-use programs. With the Hegui Tulou attracting thousands of visitors every day, the residents of the village and other tulou buildings hope that adaptive reuse will bring in even more, providing a new source of income.
The design proposal for the Cuimei Tulou is first to retain its current inhabitants by upgrading existing living conditions. The family kitchen on the ground level is enlarged to include space for food kiosks, giving residents a new source of income. The unoccupied spaces on the upper levels are reconnected by shared corridors and open platforms for both residents and visitors, creating a new spatial experience and turning what was originally a communal living structure into a mixed-use complex improving the living conditions of the original inhabitants and offering them economic incentives to stay.
쏵却짜 ‒ Jinshi Tulou
The Jinshi Tulou is adjacent to the Cuimei Tulou, in a typical tulou village in a region that has different types of these structures. The Hakka tulou often housed families that had dozens, even hundreds of members. Each family occupied a row house from the ground-level kitchen to the upper levels of bedrooms, and shared four to six staircases, a feature that further reinforces the close family ties of the Hakka clans. There are over a dozen original families still living in the Jinshi Tulou and community bonds remain strong in contrast to other tulou where the population has dwindled.
In fact, the adaptive reuse strategy envisaged here – after consulting its inhabitants – is to preserve the traditional system but upgrade general living conditions and convert vacant areas into new community spaces. The ground-level family kitchens are extended to become outdoor spaces, to prevent fire risk but also to create food kiosks for visitors. The program aims to preserve traditional tulou life with the addition of modern facilities.
폘료짜 ‒ Qifeng Tulou
Standing at the top of a gently sloped hill, Qifeng Tulou is one of the few remaining in Hua’an County. Abandoned for over three decades, the main rammed-earth wall and roof at the ground-level entrance had collapsed, and many of the internal rammed-earth walls were in ruins. Nature had reclaimed the site and trees and shrubs had reshaped the original building.
The adaptive reuse program takes into account the site’s present condition and local context while proposing a new revenue-producing plan. The collective-living function of the top stories is preserved, with the original back corridor serving as a circulation route and providing visitors with a unique tulou-living experience. The public program featuring an agricultural exhibition and workshop on the first two floors creates a dialogue with local agriculture and heritage. The deterioration over time is carefully preserved, testifying to the effects of time and the invasion of natural vegetation. The partly collapsed entrance is an opportunity to create covered viewing terraces for visitors. The program creates a new architectural language over and above the traditional tulou typology.
昇틱짜 ‒ Shengping Tulou
The 400-year-old Shengping Tulou located in the village of Baoshan, in Hua’an County, was abandoned during the country’s modernization and eventually fell to ruin. The only granite tulou in a region of prevalently rammed-earth ones, it was built by the Minnan, an indigenous people from Hua’an County, who decades later built single family homes for themselves and moved out of the tulou.
The renovation program turns this derelict structure into an open-air local opera and cultural site where the central circular court becomes the stage. The portion still standing – about one-third of the original building – becomes a reception area and spaces for workshops and artist studios. Near the exterior wall, a new self-standing timber structure in keeping with the tulou typology serves as a new exhibition center, its modern assembly allowing larger open interiors to accommodate a range of public programs and activities.
家돠짜 ‒ Shide Tulou
Today, the Shide Tulou is a vestige of an original square tulou in the village of Pushan, in Nanjing County. A monument to this unique architecture, the rammed-earth walls are among the few elements left following a devastating fire some 150 years ago. As a Hakka tulou, a portion of the wooden structure remains even after the wood partitions were removed. The typical flexibility of the Hakka tulou layout allows its conversion into a rammed-earth workshop offering cultural and educational programs.
The upper floors accommodate different functions, such as an exhibition of the history of rammed-earth construction, while a viewing terrace on the top level gives view of the entire village. Each floor opens onto the courtyard with views onto the remains of the burned rammed-earth walls, a spectacular monument clearly showing the vernacular structure and materials used to build the Hakka tulou. The adaptive reuse program for the three tulou in Pushan as a public cultural space is designed to attract visitors from the nearby Hegui Tulou, and offer new sources of revenue for the community.
亂붉짜 ‒ Zhaihe Tulou
Located nearby an historic porcelain kiln site in Pinghe County, the Zhaihe Tulou has lain abandoned and in ruins for decades. Even though its layout follows the general tulou format, the rammed-earth walls are unique for the use made of fragments of local porcelain to reinforce the structure, a feature that links the construction to the village’s historic production of Clark porcelain.
The vestiges of the original building are preserved using traditional local techniques and turned into exhibition and working spaces. A new timber structure echoing the original tulou footprint houses a porcelain workshop and classroom, while the Clark porcelain heritage center is further enhanced with the addition of a tea house and relaxation space, further connecting the ancient tulou to the local communities and heritage and helping to restore their collective memory. The entrance, central courtyard, and remnants of the rammed-earth walls testify to a period in the province’s history but also provide today’s community with garden and recreational spaces.
Adaptive reuse of Rixin Tulou by XBTW Office
The Rixin Tulou was constructed on a hill in Ting’an Village in the 31st year of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Once the earliest large courtyard-style tulou in Fujian Province, only the high platform and a few other remnants still exist today. The adaptive reuse program aims to preserve what is left but at the same time revitalize this important monument.
Although introducing new architectural elements that serve as key nodes, the design project is underpinned by the concept of preservation. The layout of the site respects the original street structure, restoring the lateral and longitudinal connections of the three-tiered platform to create a circular tour path. Spatial renovation and the addition of new programs are informed by the remnants of the original houses. The remains of the former structure are repaired and preserved alongside newly created spaces showcasing tulou architectural construction, residential layout, and traditional furniture. While reinforcing the existing architectural remnants, the newly designed elements offer amenities like a reception area, bamboo art workshops, and a traditional tea-making workshop.
All constructions use local materials. A bamboo workshop is located in the garden behind the original building and has a U-shaped bamboo corridor that not only encloses the garden but also facilitates interaction with the external scenery. The tea-making workshop is a wooden structure that integrates two tea rooms into the existing space, offering visitors an immersive experience of the local tea culture.
Adaptive reuse of Five Phoenix Building by Dai Falk
The Five Phoenix Building located in immediate proximity to Shengping Tulou will be transformed into a passionfruit workshop, celebrating its longstanding local production. A traditional rammed-earth rural dwelling of southern Fujian, the Five Phoenix Building has been a neglected ruin for decades, testifying to the impact of village depopulation over the years.
One of the design challenges is the elevation difference of 2 m between the ground level of the Five Phoenix Building and the Shengping Plaza. Located in a sunken pit, it has been invaded by lush greenery choking the entrance and passageways. By introducing the concept of “Beauty Seats”, inspired by traditional Chinese garden furnishings, the design re-establishes a connection between the existing building and the plaza: a new entrance is introduced on the first floor, linked directly to the plaza by a bridge, a physical yet symbolic structure inviting visitors to engage with both the historical structure and the natural vegetation all around.
The bridge railing serves a dual purpose: as seating for the workshop but also as part of the visitor path. Weaving in and out of the building, this circulation path is both a vertical connection across the two levels and a horizontal circuit connecting the internal spaces with the natural vegetation and the historical plaza.
Adaptive reuse of Qiyun Tulou by Davide Contran
The village of Daishan is famous for its Hakka Qiyun Tulou, a Unesco-protected, centuries-old structure known as “Mother Earth”. Situated atop a prominent hill, it links urban and rural landscapes, serving as an observation point of the surrounding environment. Two interventions are planned, one inside and one outside, both designed to reflect the essence of the traditional tulou.
The Qiyun Tulou will undergo meticulous restoration, its outer façade reflecting its enduring history. On the inside, the project creates a tulou-type courtyard where a stage-cum-balcony in radial design harks back to classical architecture. The second project involves two adjacent collective dwellings built below the foundations of the original tulou, creating a community space for local inhabitants and visitors and showcasing local tea production and tulou history. Here, the upper level of the original houses will be replaced with a new timber structure hosting a tea house and a bookshop, and whose views over the countryside connect the site with the nearby village.
Inside, the radial structure reflects the tulou tradition, while a sky-bridge on the first level offers panoramic views across to the village of Pushan. The renovation project creates a new public space for locals and visitors to appreciate the village’s rich heritage and its connection with the surrounding nature and context.
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