Hui House Libro Espositivo di Architettura

Press Kit

Unique Properties

The art book depicts Hui-style architecture, the unique ancient architectural school, and a fading heritage in China that verifies the cultural integration dated back millennia.
Each page showcases comprehensive yet digestible information and when overlaid, they transform into a delicate 3D Hui-style panorama to attract a broader audience, unveiling not only architectural details with spatial reference and proportionality but also the misty Hui regional culture landscape.

Dimensions & Packaging

Limited edition; Format: 280 mm x 25 mm x 216 mm; Butterfly binding, half frame wire binding insert, die cutting; Artistic texture 160g matte paper, 100g acetate paper, 96g sulfuric acid paper; Silk-screen printing, UV printing

Tags

Art book, Heritage Preservation, Educational Tool, Architectural Exhibition, Hui-Style Architecture, 3D Visual Print, International Association of Hui Art Studies, Cultural Heritage Advocacy, Architectural Archaeology

Production Technology

Through Historic Building Information Modeling (HBIM), including 3D scanning, texture capturing for patterns of wood, stone, and brick carvings of authentic ancient Huizhou residences, depth-layered 2D images are sliced from digital models, and printed onto acetate fiber papers to enhance the visual depth and clarity, forming interactive "windows" with proportions of Hui-style buildings, allowing for a dynamic exploration of architectural details and spatial relationships.

Design Challenge

Research indicates that Hui studies, as one of only three prominent local scholarly traditions in China, face risks due to its inland geographical and historical contexts.

Field research shows that Hui architecture as a crucial cultural heritage is fading: Neglect, poor maintenance, and auctions are causing Hui architectural groups to vanish from the misty Huangshan and collective memory. Also, its construction skills, the core intangible cultural heritage, are nearing extinction.

Research

Hui-style architecture is a focal part of Hui cultural heritage, as it embodies both the tangible heritage of habitats and the intangible heritage of construction techniques. Based on architectural analysis, the Hui style is China's sole architectural tradition that merges southern loft structures with northern courtyards, a fading heritage verifying the integration between the Central Plains civilization and the ancient Yue culture, an essential part of the Chinese cultural fabric.

Inspiration

This project explores iconic Hui-style architecture's axial symmetry layout and section expansion in depth, which is presented by intricate front views but a uniform side view. So when stacked, the "windows" as depth-layered illustrations with spatial references showing an immersive miniature Hui house, which creates a 3D learning journey, a unique educational and exhibitive tool for preserving and understanding architectural heritage.

Project Duration

Launched in Jan 2023 in Boston, prototype bound in Suzhou, China. The project finished in Oct 2023 and was exhibited in HuiZhou Museum, and Bengbu Museum, China.

Operation Flow

Upon first glance, a see-through window from the cover to the back attracts readers to Hui-style architecture. As pages turn, iconic sections with narratives and extended details lead readers to a self-paced tour through the building. Layered pages allow users to pause between two sections to observe spatial relationships and different perspectives. This interaction makes ancient, intricate concepts accessible and engaging, fostering a profound impact on spreading Hui cultural heritage.