Weekend escape from Shanghai: The rammed-earth Jiuceng Art Gallery in Zhejiang

With its undulating roof and rammed earth walls, the Jiuceng Art Gallery (Songyang Branch) is a welcome addition to Shanlong Village, nestled in a valley amid the mountains of China’s Zhejiang Province. Conceptualised by Atelier Lu+ Architects, it respectfully pays tribute to the vernacular design style and materials. 

Look deeper and a compelling story emerges, layered with echoes of the Bilbao Effect. The timing feels serendipitous: the architect most associated with the phenomenon, Frank Gehry, passed away in December 2025. While Jiuceng cannot single-handedly lay claim to reviving the fortunes of Shanlong, it has sparked fresh interest in the village and its surrounds. 

On weekends, urbanites flock in from nearby cities such as Lishui, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. They come to admire the gallery’s architecture as well as the art it exhibits. In doing so, they inject life into this 300-year-old village – one that has been steadily emptying – and into a rural revitalisation project launched by the Songyang County government in April 2018: the Hundred Artists Settlement in Villages Plan.

Lu Xiang, founder of Atelier Lu+ Architects, was one of those who “settled”, albeit briefly, in Shanlong. “An important step in my process is what I call ‘design on site’,” he said. “I lived in the village for about one week, in part to take measurements of the plot, but also to understand the local culture, traditions, craftsmanship and materials.”

What greeted Lu on arrival at the south-facing site was a small garden separating two pairs of dilapidated, abandoned houses. Positioned at the top of the village, they fronted a gully, down which the rest of Shanlong’s buildings cascade.

A gushing river runs alongside the site before meandering across its front from west to east. The backdrop is of mountains covered with lush, verdant vegetation that rise majestically. If a feng shui master had been consulted, he would have wholeheartedly approved of the setting.

These qualities also attracted Lu’s client, Yang Yang – who owns a similar gallery in Beijing – to set up a second outpost in Shanlong. After acquiring the site, she decided to commission Lu for the project, given his approach.

Lu explained: “My philosophy is to let the material, building structure and construction detail take centrestage. The way light is allowed into a space – whether daylight or artificial light – and illuminates it is also important to me.”

Following his stay in the village, Lu decided that the houses had to be dismantled rather than demolished or renovated. In the interest of safety, he felt it would be prudent to design a new structure. And because a gallery needs large, open rooms to showcase art, the many existing walls that segmented the homes would have had to come down.

Rather than trying to stand out, Lu approached the context with reverence. He kept roughly 90 per cent of the original footprint of the four houses and, within that boundary, designed a two-storey building with a total floor area of 683 sq m.

Rammed earth from the old walls was reused to construct the new ones, preserving the material memory and texture of the original village fabric. Lu also used rocks from the mountains and riverbeds in the region to pack the bases and line the walkways. Daylight filters in through clear glass doors and windows, as well as through translucent, double-layered U-glass panels positioned directly under the roof.

Careful to respect the different heights of the original buildings, he designed a single elongated, undulating roof to unite the structure. It measures 61m and is constructed from 667 short ribs of Chinese fir, woven into arches. On the outside, it is covered with a layer of slate-grey clay that doubles as waterproofing, helping the building blend further into the village.

“From inside Jiuceng, the roof’s intricate composition is on full display. Crafted in collaboration with master artisan Hu Miao, it borrows from traditional wooden arch-bridge building – recognised as an intangible cultural heritage of China – in which Hu is an expert.”

Lu explained: “The roof is a very important part of the design that reflects the nature of the location. The gallery is surrounded by mountains, covered with trees that provide the wood. To make them easier to transport, they are cut short to be between one and three metres. The carpenters from here are very familiar with weaving these pieces of wood to build big structures. It is a technique that belongs to this area.”

Another striking feature of the interiors is how one stretch of wall is the original geological formation of the mountain. Lu vividly recalled his first encounter with it: “When I opened the door to one of the houses, I immediately saw the huge rock facing me, which I felt was very powerful. I decided to keep it as it is.” While unconventional by art gallery standards, he shared that an artist had already created an installation on it for a past exhibition. 

The rest of the column-free spaces defy expectations too. Instead of white canvases and high ceilings, the main exhibition area is finished in concrete screed on both walls and floor. Sections have also been carved out for a gift shop, cafe, kitchen, private dining room and storage. On the upper floor, a viewing platform offers vistas across the valley.

“The client preferred it this way, because her gallery in Beijing already has a lot of empty space and high, white walls. She wanted this one in Shanlong Village to be more responsive to the local context. It is important that the artists feel it is warm and sincere,” Lu explained.

The formula seems to be working. Since opening in 2023, Jiuceng has held 10 exhibitions. Artists from near and far have visited and even moved in to live in the village. Yang herself resides there for most of the year, truly becoming a “new villager” of Shanlong herself. 

Further testimony to its success is how Jiuceng has made it onto a social media list of “most beautiful buildings” to visit in Songyang County. As a result, the village has become a must-stop for those touring the area, helping to revitalise it further.

When they come, admiration must surely be felt for Lu’s endeavour of turning four houses into a contemporary public building that maintains a deep connection to the land. This new icon of Shanlong proves that with thoughtful design, the past can be sensitively preserved, and that architecture and art can breathe life back into dying rural communities.