Climbing Amphitheatre Primary Function: Imba Yemitambo Yenguva Pfupi by Yutao Chen and Yiwen Gu

Climbing Amphitheatre Primary Function: Imba Yemitambo Yenguva Pfupi by Yutao Chen and Yiwen Gu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Mubairo weBronzi we A' Design Award in Chiitiko neMisangano Competition Category.

BronziChiitiko· 2026

Climbing Amphitheatre Primary Function: Imba Yemitambo Yenguva Pfupi

by Yutao Chen and Yiwen Gu

Client: Studio WE

Mubairo weBronzi we A' Design Award Winner in Chiitiko Category

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Verified Award Winner
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The Design

About Climbing Amphitheatre Primary Function: Imba Yemitambo Yenguva Pfupi

Book Text: "Kukwira Manera, Imba Yemitambo Yedariro" muguta reAiyuan, Jiangsu, inodudzira patsva manera ekurima echinyakare sechiratidzo chekubatana kweveruzhinji uye kuenderera kwetsika. Kuburikidza nemasystem ane zvikamu emadhirowa ematanda, manera, uye zvisungo zvinosimbisa, vagari vemumusha vanobatanidza nekuparadzanisa imba yemitambo yenguva pfupi. Senzvimbo inofamba, inopinda vanhu yemitambo, mafirimu, uye misangano, inowedzera kudyidzana kwevanhu, inomutsiridza munda wemiti yemichero, uye inobatana zvakanaka nezvakatipoteredza zvekumamisha.

The Recognition

About the Mubairo weBronzi we A' Design Award

Mubairo weBronzi we A' Design Award wakahwinwa ne Climbing Amphitheatre Primary Function: Imba Yemitambo Yenguva Pfupi, rukudzo rwakakwirira kwazvo runopiwa kumadhizaini akasiyana anozivikanwa nekugadzira, njere nekungwara. Vakunda veBronzi mabasa ane unyanzvi hwakakwana uye kugadzira kunoshamisa kunosimbisa ruzivo rukuru, pfungwa nehunyanzvi hwevagadziri vawo. Climbing Amphitheatre Primary Function: Imba Yemitambo Yenguva Pfupi inotarisirwa kuva chinhu chinokudzwa kwazvo, chinoremekedzwa uye chinodiwa, chine hunyanzvi hunoonekwa uye zvitsva. Dhizaini iyi yakahwina Mubairo weBronzi we A' Design Award inosanganisa maitiro akanakisa muhunyanzvi, sayenzi, dhizaini netekinoroji uye yakasiyana nekutarisisa zvidiki. Climbing Amphitheatre Primary Function: Imba Yemitambo Yenguva Pfupi inogutsa zvinodiwa zvakanaka, inobata zvishuvo, inokwezva manzwiro uye inomutsa kuda kuziva.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Climbing the Ladder, Party Amphitheatre is a modular, community-assembled temporary theater made of timber frames, ladders, and tension straps. Designed for assembly by local villagers, it fosters participation as both audience and builders. The adaptable structure hosts performances and screenings, revitalizing the orchard into a social hub. This project merges architecture with rural life, turning tools into a spatial framework that strengthens community bonds.
Dimensions & Packaging: The modular amphitheatre consists of timber frame units measuring 2,400 mm x 1,200 mm x 2,500 mm. Ladders function as adjustable seating risers ranging from 500 mm to 1,500 mm in height, enabling flexible audience arrangements. Fully assembled, the structure spans up to 12 m x 8 m x 4 m and adapts easily to uneven orchard terrain.
Tags: Community Architecture, Modular Design, Participatory Design, Rural Innovation, Timber Structure, Mobile Amphitheatre, Cultural Heritage, Interactive Space, Adaptive Reuse, Festival Pavilion
Production Technology: The structure employs a modular timber frame system combined with locally sourced ladders and tension straps, enabling rapid assembly and disassembly without heavy machinery. Structural stability is achieved through interlocking joints and adjustable tensioning, while the modular system allows scalability and adaptation to orchard topography. Timber surfaces are treated for durability, ensuring both functional performance and visual harmony with the rural landscape.
Design Challenge: This design explores how participatory architecture can activate rural spaces and strengthen social cohesion through simple, adaptable systems. By transforming ladders - an everyday rural object - into a spatial and cultural framework, the project demonstrates how design can elevate ordinary tools into platforms for interaction, performance, and collective experience. The amphitheatre reveals the potential of low-tech, community-driven construction to create meaningful public spaces that are flexible, inclusive, and deeply connected to local culture.
Research: This field research investigated the integration of vernacular farming tools into participatory rural architecture. The objective was to create a low-cost, modular theater system. Using qualitative observation and structural prototyping, the study engaged local villagers as active participants in the assembly process. Results showed that utilizing familiar ladders as core components reduced construction barriers and costs. This research impacts rural social cohesion by proving that community-driven, low-tech frameworks can successfully revitalize orchard landscapes into interactive cultural venues.
Inspiration: Rooted in the centuries-old pear orchards of Aiyuan Town, Jiangsu, this project draws inspiration from the everyday ladder. Reimagined as a collective architectural element, the ladder, traditionally used for farming and labor, becomes a symbol of gathering and shared memory. By transforming this familiar object into a modular spatial system, the design celebrates local traditions while creating a contemporary platform for performance and communal life within the orchard landscape.
Project Duration: The project was developed and constructed between March and September 2024 in Aiyuan Town, Jiangsu, China. Installed within the town's pear orchards, the amphitheatre was activated during seasonal festivals and community gatherings, reinforcing local participation and cultural engagement.
Operation Flow: The amphitheatre is assembled collaboratively by villagers through a simple system of interlocking timber frames, ladders, and straps. Audiences move freely between levels, sit on ladders or platforms, and engage with performances from multiple perspectives. The open, reconfigurable layout encourages informal interaction, flexibility, and immersion, allowing the space to adapt to different events while fostering a shared sense of ownership and participation.
Team Members: Yutao Chen and Yiwen Gu
Image Credits: Yutao Chen