RSAA / Büro Ziyu Zhuang has unveiled the design for the "Linpan Guesthouse" in Chengdu. Located in Chongzhou, a county-level city under the administration of Chengdu, the project sits in a region with a rich history and deep cultural heritage that has inspired the poetry of literary figures like Lu You, Du Fu, and Wang Bo, preserving the ancient style, charm, and character of western Sichuan. The "Linpan Guesthouse" scheme integrates western Sichuan's historical residential spatial typology with local climatic conditions, cultural characteristics, and the living habits and lifestyles of the local population. It aims to overlap and reorganize the *linpan* (traditional forest settlement) archetype with the multi-point perspective of traditional Chinese painting on a spatial level. This approach seeks to enrich the spatial dynamics and narrative possibilities of both the interior and exterior architectural experience. The project is currently under construction.
Located in Shigunyan, Baitou Town, Chongzhou, the site is bordered by the Qimu River Wetland Park to the north and the park's reception center to the east. Surrounded by agricultural fields, the area offers a beautiful natural environment and a pleasant climate.
Informed by this contextual setting, the architectural design began with extensive research into traditional western Sichuan dwellings. This traditional prototype—characterized by houses, courtyards, forests, water, and fields—satisfies the imagination of traditional living and serves as a model of pastoral life for contemporary urbanites.
Through a typological analysis, the design team identified several prototype combinations to be integrated into the scheme: "house + courtyard," "house + tree," "house + field," "house + house," "house + eaves," and "house + water." These were subsequently expanded and translated in the final design.
In addition, the creation of landscape and spatial flow in traditional Chinese landscape scrolls, combined with the reorganization of the aforementioned *linpan* spatial typologies, represents another spatial potential explored in this project. The multi-point perspective used in traditional landscape handscrolls allows multiple spatial narratives to overlap within a single composition. This aligns with the diverse, flexible, and multi-scenario operational demands of contemporary project developments. Along a long spatial axis, numerous stories, events, and daily activities unfold gradually like a scroll.
Acting as a narrative vehicle, the Linpan Guesthouse corresponds to the site's primary zoning and layout with a "functional scroll facade." This facade conceals a spatial narrative system tailored to each function, extending the "scroll" into a broader spatial depth.
As a vital spatial integrating element, the eaves extend the two-dimensional "functional scroll facade" in multiple directions across three-dimensional space. Within this series of overlapping spatial relationships, the spatial qualities of the traditional *linpan*—backing onto mountains, overlooking water, nestled among trees, and merging house with courtyard—are revived. At the same time, the rich spatial transitions offer a highly contemporary experience and a brand-new spatial typology. Here, the houses, eaves, fields, water, trees, and people become fluid elements and motifs within this unrolling scroll, integrating visitors, architectural features, and natural elements into a singular whole.
The project's primary program comprises reception, accommodation, leisure, dining, and cultural zones, organized into distinct functional sectors through a semi-loop circulation path. The scheme maximizes the site footprint within the property lines, complying with setbacks and circulation requirements. It organizes functional blocks based on the spatial patterns of the traditional western Sichuan *linpan* system, creating a cascading layout interspersed with mature trees and surrounded by waterways.
Programmatic zoning transitions from public to private areas starting from the entrance, using courtyard landscaping to clearly delineate public and private zones. The layout also responds to environmental factors in different directions: a cantilevered exhibition hall facing Xiling Snow Mountain, guest rooms opening toward the rice fields, an entrance courtyard facing the street, and an inner eave veranda with a grand activity staircase facing the central courtyard. Architecture and landscape interweave, with distinct functions remaining independent yet responding to one another—reminiscent of the traditional *linpan* archetype but with a distinctly contemporary spatial quality.
The continuous roof system snakes through the site like a dragon, carrying forward the essence of western Sichuan architecture. The buildings overlap and interlock in both plan and section, creating rich indoor and outdoor spaces. Moreover, the undulating inner eaves and circulation paths transform the traditional rectangular courtyard system into multiple smaller, specialized courtyards, each with its own spatial identity.
Bamboo groves, micro-landscapes, peripheral rice fields, and water features winding through the complex establish the landscape foundation. This creates a multi-layered environment where houses sit in forests, forests grow between houses, fields flank the buildings, and forests rise within fields. The design condenses the western Sichuan *linpan* landscape system onto the site to the greatest extent possible, satisfying programmatic needs while delivering a cultural and natural space that harmonizes house and courtyard.
In this sense, the Linpan Guesthouse is a model that is both contemporary and traditional—a landscape pattern weaving forest and field, offering a new destination on the outskirts of Chengdu where visitors can experience the intersection of past and future.
Lead Architectural and Interior Design Team: RSAA / Büro Ziyu Zhuang
Project Location: Chongzhou, Chengdu
Building Area: 5,134 square meters
Design Year: 2018
Principal Designer: Ziyu Zhuang
Architectural Design Team: Zhongqi Ren, Xi Wei, Jungang Chen, Liyuan Liu, Zichen Ye
Interior Design Team: Na Li, Xin Zhao, Xinhui Xie, Ruoxi Jin, Hongyu Fan, Mengzhao Xing (Intern), Zhenrong Guo, Ning Wang (Intern)
Client: Sichuan Guohong Chongzhan Modern Service Industry Investment Co., Ltd.
Client Representative: Yaping Wu
Client Design Representatives: Zhaoxi Wang, Congbo Li, Jinjiang Huang, Chengyu Tu, Shidong Ding
EPC Construction: Huaxi No. 6 Construction Engineering Co., Ltd.
Project Director: Liping Wang
Technical Director: Yong Wang
Local Architectural Executive Design: Sichuan Provincial Architectural Design and Research Institute
Project Directors: Jin Bai, Baolei Wang; Architectural Engineering: Yulin Jiang; Structural Engineering: Baolei Wang, Rui Zhong, Xinghua Wang; Water Supply and Drainage: Xi Yuan; Electrical Engineering: Fei Xiao; HVAC: Pan Yao
Local Interior Executive Design: Yasha Southwest Design and Research Institute
Project Director: Mao Leng; Construction Drawings: Rui Zhang, Zhenhua Ma, Shuohua Wang, Wen Huang, Changyu Wang, Laixi Wei
Steel Structure Construction & Support Team: Beixin Steel Structure
Directors: Lingxiao Duan, Zebin Gou, Yongchao Huang, Yuan Nie
This article was written by 韩爽. The translation is powered by AI.
