Imagist architecture is an abstract form of architectural expression rooted in ancient Chinese philosophy that seeks harmony between man and nature. Out of longing for a poetic lifestyle and the reproduction of scenes, it is a process of architectural creation that starts with feeling but ends with rationality. Proceeding from the regional culture, natural sciences, and architectural purposes, imagist architecture will start with advance imagination of overall artistic conception, conduct abstract construction of architectural imageries and use them for the core spirit and thought of architecture, and further as the guidance on the architectural function, architecture form and design of construction materials. Finally, proper technology will be chosen so as to satisfy the material and mental needs of man, nature and architecture.
“Imagist architecture” will be illustrated here with “Bamboo Branch Academy,” a project newly completed by Archermit, as an example.
▼竹枝书院鸟瞰，Bamboo Branch Academy aerial view ©存在建筑
Regional culture and architectural purpose
“Bamboo Branch Academy” is located in Yongjiang Village, Zhuhai Town, Changning County, Yibin, Sichuan Province, near the famous Shunan Bamboo Sea Scenic Area. The project, situated in a small village in Huangjuetan, Yongjiang Village, is surrounded by bamboo forests, paddy fields, vegetable fields, and hills. The Yujiang River is babbling in the west and the south, and Shunan Bamboo Sea in the north rolls like a large green screen.
“Bamboo Branch Academy” was developed as China implemented the “rural revitalization” strategy. Mentally, its architectural purpose is to “develop the bamboo industry in accordance with local conditions, and landscape Sichuan villages with bamboo forests” and “make bamboo of Yibin an ecological gateway to introduce southern Sichuan to the world.” Physically, its architectural purpose is to build the Music Workshop under Bamboo, Paddy Field Academy, and Guild Hall for Buddhist Meditation.
▼永江村全景鸟瞰，Yongjiang Village ©小隐建筑
Yibin boasts many regional images such as the first city along the Yangtze River, Shunan Bamboo Sea, Wuliangye, Rongzhou, Southern Sichuan Impression, Lizhuang Ancient Town, Xijiashan Folk House, Jiuzhou Tower, and the Bo People. Considering the cultural panorama and the direct relevance to the architectural purpose, the project team is impressed with the images of the first city along the Yangtze River, Rongzhou, and Shunan Bamboo Sea.
▼宜宾印象，the image of Yibin ©小隐建筑
“Bamboo” is the core carrier of the project’s guiding architectural principles. As an integral part of unique traditional Chinese culture, bamboo is seen as incarnation of junzi (gentleman). Hollow on the inside and straight on the outside, bamboo is considered unyielding, outstanding, unpretentious and modest, and has become an important cultural symbol of ancient Chinese literati. Different parts of the bamboo are related to different images – bamboo roots, bamboo shoots, bamboo leaves, bamboo knots, bamboo branches, bamboo bushes, bamboo forests, and bamboo seas. For example, bamboo shoots after a spring rain are used to describe the emergence of new things in abundance, and the bamboo forest under the moon, the mottled shadows cast by bamboo trees and the winding path through the bamboo forest are used to signify tranquility or fortitude. As a major material used in daily life in China, bamboo has various uses: musical instruments, bamboo weaving, furniture, farm implements, medicine and so on. Among the many images of bamboo, its abstract architectural imagery should be established with further deliberation and investigation.
▼竹之印象，the image of bamboo ©小隐建筑
The above-mentioned imageries are known to us as we grow up, but how can they be integrated into the project to form a whole and proper architectural artistic conception? How to meet the architectural purpose of the project? How to embody the guiding architectural principles and ideas? With these questions in mind, the team visited and investigated the site three times. The field visit is a necessary process to transform conceptual images into impressions and abstract the impressions into the core architectural imagery.
The first visit was conducted in the late winter of January 2019. The village was wreathed in mist with all plants withered. Only the ducks playing in the paddy fields, dogs barking at strangers, and villagers strolling in the fields add to its vitality. Though quite bleak and desolate, it brought a rare sense of tranquility and leisure.
▼雨雾弥漫的村子，the village wreathed in mist ©小隐建筑
▼漫步的村民和水田里戏水的鸭子，villagers strolling in the fields and the ducks playing in the paddy field ©小隐建筑
We were impressed by the various images here – the bamboo-clad hills around the base, the mud walls covered with bamboo strips surrounding the dilapidated house, the grayish blue tiled roof, and the plantain trees next to the old house. They are common in the countryside of Sichuan, and hardly can leave a deep impression.
▼爬满竹林的山丘、竹编夹泥墙、小青瓦屋面， the bamboo-clad hills, the mud walls and the grayish blue tiled roof ©小隐建筑
We got excited upon seeing the bamboo forest by the river before leaving. Numerous bamboo shoots thrived with irresistible momentum, rising out of the canopy formed by mature bamboo towards the sky. A few had sprouted, reminding us of a bamboo-themed poem written by Zhang Zhengjian. It was in stark contrast with what we saw back in the village, which impressed us a lot. It reminded us of the motif of the project – “revitalization”, which can be linked up with such words and phrases as “prominence,” “getting rid of the stale and bringing forth the fresh,” and “prosperity of both the new and the old.” We did not go into the depths of the bamboo forest due to the rain.
▼江边的竹林新象，the new rising bamboo forest ©小隐建筑
We came here the second time in the early spring of February. The bamboo trees on the hills around the village were about to reach the sky with tender shoots like clusters of green clouds.
▼随处可见的“欲凌空”意象，“ clusters of green clouds” ©小隐建筑
It was a breezy and sunny day to explore the bamboo forest. We saw first hand the images like “mottled shadows cast by bamboo trees,” “the bamboo forest under the moon,” and “the winding path through the bamboo forest.” We were impressed by the corridors naturally formed by bamboo trees, and their light and shadow, smell and sound.
▼竹影斑驳、竹径通幽，the winding path through the bamboo forest in the mottled shadows cast by bamboo trees ©小隐建筑
▼竹廊、竹拱，bamboo corridors and arches ©小隐建筑
The impressions from the two visits will become the direct source of the architectural artistic conception of the project. These images will be abstracted into the core imagery as guidance for future creation.
▼书院竹林意象，the Bamboo Branch Academy ©存在建筑
The major tasks after the field visit include the fusion of the conceptional images from the site with the architectural purpose, bamboo culture and local culture in an ingenious way, and the abstraction of the core architectural imagery. The architectural purpose in the physical sense is to build the Music Workshop under Bamboo, Paddy Field Academy, and Guild Hall for Buddhist Meditation in conjunction with the bamboo culture. Is there any bamboo imagery that can simultaneously integrate the workshop, academy, and meditation? In ancient China, music was called “Sizhu”, and traditional Chinese musical instruments such as flute, xiao, sheng, zheng and erhu are all made of bamboo. Chinese classical music is closely related to poetry. Songs were distinguished from poems in ancient China as the former was accompanied by music and the latter was not. Poems, a linguistic art, were derived from songs that fall under the musical literature with a long history.
▼竹林七乐意象，seven sages of the bamboo grove ©靳金斗-竹林七贤
The emergence of Chinese academies can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. They were places where literati and scholars gathered for giving lectures at first, and later developed into venues for lectures, debates, research, and collection of books. The books in ancient China were made of bamboo slips.
▼竹林书院意象，Chinese academy in the forest ©仇英-竹林七贤
Meditation is generally a method of promoting peace of mind and self-cultivation, and highly compatible with music workshops and academies in terms of function. By sorting out, summarizing, associating, and demonstrating related information, we have established “bamboo branches” as the core architectural imagery of the project.
▼书院竹影、竹径、竹廊意象，night view of the academy, the bamboo path and the bamboo corridor ©存在建筑
Zhuzhi (bamboo branch) is the name of a tune and one of the Yuefu poems. It evolved from the folk songs in the ancient Ba and Yu areas. Li Yuxi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, composed a poem for the tune when he served as the prefectural governor of Kuizhou to depict the climate, natural phenomena and customs. It was performed by the singer with dancers accompanied by flute and drum. Kuizhou (now Fengjie, Chongqing) was the political, economic, cultural, and military center of eastern Sichuan in the Tang Dynasty. Rongzhou (now Yibin) was a place of strategic importance in southern Sichuan in the Tang Dynasty and the first city along the Yangtze River. Rongzhou and Kuizhou are so closely connected by the Yangtze River geographically and culturally that the “mountains of Ba and waters of Shu” have enjoyed a reputation since ancient times. Many literati and scholars traveled here, such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Liu Yuxi, Su Shi, and Huang Tingjian, and wrote countless poems about this region.
▼唐代时期戎州与夔州， Rongzhou and Kuizhou in Tang Dynasty ©小隐建筑
Zhuzhi is closely related to the music workshop as the folk song, and to the academy as the poem. Bamboo branches are important not only to bamboo itself, but also to traditional Chinese literature. The concrete and abstract imageries of bamboo branches coincided with the architectural purpose (music workshop, academy and meditation) and the scene that “the bamboo trees on the hills around the village were about to reach the sky with tender shoots like clusters of green clouds” greatly impressed us.
▼竹枝书院与竹林、山丘、稻田的共荣，the Bamboo Branch Academy coexists with the surrounding forest and fields ©存在建筑
As a poetic style deriving from the Tang Dynasty and a vivid description of pastoral life with distinct regional characteristics, cultural personality and rich local flavor, Zhuzhi is of great historical value to the research on social culture, geography and other fields. The fact that few people know about Zhuzhi currently is another important reason why the team chose it as the architectural imagery.
▼竹枝书院乡土氛围，a rich local flavor ©存在建筑
Zhuzhi as the core architectural imagery represents the guiding architectural principles of Bamboo Branch Academy with great symbolic significance. The concrete image of the architecture should be expressed with the synaesthetic image deriving from Zhuzhi or bamboo branches. The fragmentary imageries obtained from the field visits and preliminary investigations including bamboo knots, bamboo groves, mottled shadows cast by bamboo trees, paths flanked by bamboo, bamboo under the moon, plantain trees, grayish blue tiled roof and hills covered with bamboo forests can be integrated by the guiding architectural principles organically and function as the cornerstone for creating a proper architectural artistic conception.
▼雨雾中的竹枝书院，the Bamboo Branch Academy in the mist ©存在建筑
▼夜幕下的竹枝书院，night view ©存在建筑
Architectural artistic conception
People in southern Sichuan live in villages built with and surrounded by bamboo traditionally, as characterized by “one house with one patch of farmland and one courtyard.” Mou Yanwu’s Written while Living near Water and Bamboo offers a prime example. By its barrage of beautiful imagery—such as a cabin encircled by clear water, green chiffon, vibrant fish and birds, the reflection of a balustrade on the rippling water, a small writing desk, a gentle green drizzle— the poem truly portrays the project’s architectural concept.
“one house with one patch of farmland and one courtyard”
The “cabin encircled by clear water” is a metaphor for the rolling architectural form, “the reflection of a balustrade on the rippling water” indicates the ever-changing eaves galleries, and the “small writing desk” the function of the academy; the “green chiffon, vibrant birds, reflection of a balustrade on the rippling water and a gentle green drizzle” vividly depicts a tiny world where architecture is in perfect harmony with nature, which is represented by bamboo forests, flying birds, rice paddies, and the light rain.
▼绕屋之象，the cabin encircled by clear water ©存在建筑
▼书院檐廊，the covered gallery ©存在建筑
▼雨中书院，the academy in the rain ©存在建筑
“Between the willows green the river flows along; I hear my beloved from a boat breaking into song. The west is veiled in rain, the east enjoys sunshine; My beloved is as deep in love as the day is fine.” Liu Yuxi’s Bamboo Branch Song depicts an idyllic mood very similar to the scenes of interaction circulating for the architectural project of Bamboo Branch Academy.
▼场景意境，artistic conception ©马远-踏歌图局部
▼书院晨曦，the academy in the dawn ©存在建筑
Endowing forms with ideas, and perceiving ideas through forms
“Bamboo Branch Academy” is created by remodeling two old houses in southern Sichuan. The functions of the music workshop, academy, and meditation should be well combined to separate Bamboo Branch Academy into two parts. The house far away from the road is serene and properly protected. It is renovated and turned into an academy for meditation. The one near the road and thus noisy is severely damaged and should be rebuilt into the music workshop. The two academies are connected by a corridor to create an “image” of “surrounding the house” and a multi-functional outdoor space to add vitality.
▼禅修书院雨景，the academy for meditation ©存在建筑
▼禅修书院夜景，night view ©存在建筑
▼乐坊书院与竹林，the music workshop ©存在建筑
▼乐坊书院夜景，night view ©存在建筑
▼书院屋顶绕屋之象，the two academies are connected to create an image of “surrounding the house” ©存在建筑
▼书院连廊，the connecting corridor ©存在建筑
The modesty of bamboo shares something in common with zen. The idea of bamboo knots is turned into the form of the interior and exterior of the academy for meditation. The image of bamboo knots is materialized with the semi-outdoor yard, the porch with eave and the ventilated yet non-penetrated inner room. The idea of the unrivaled nature of bamboo is integrated with that of liveliness of the music workshop. The idea of “bamboo groves casting shadows and flanking a winding path to tranquility” blends into the image of the whole space of the music workshop, and is represented in an abstract way by the bamboo thickets in the yard, the white steel pipes in the porch, the indoor glass patio and bamboo installations.
▼禅修书院庭院，the courtyard of the academy for meditation ©存在建筑
▼禅修书院檐廊，the covered gallery of the academy for meditation ©存在建筑
▼禅修书院禅茶，the tearoom of the academy for meditation ©存在建筑
▼乐坊书院庭院，the courtyard of the music workshop ©存在建筑
▼乐坊书院檐廊和天井，the gallery and patio of the music workshop ©存在建筑
▼乐坊书院竹装置，bamboo installation ©存在建筑
The undulating grayish blue tiled roof, the embodiment of the image that the “house is surrounded,” is compatible with the “hills covered with bamboo forests” in the vicinity, and a response to the requirements of local people for “prosperity of the new and the old.” The relocation and integration of plantain trees, bamboo groves and farm paths endow Bamboo Branch Academy with a gentle heart, which, as a new member, is once again embraced by the village!
▼竹枝书院与竹林山丘，Bamboo Branch Academy dialoguing with the mountain ©存在建筑
▼小青瓦屋面，the undulating grayish blue tiled roof ©存在建筑
Bamboo Branch Academy is expected to shape the scenery of and add “poetic and pictorial splendor” to Yongjiang Village, Yibin.
▼竹枝书院与芭蕉和村民，Bamboo Branch Academy, plantain trees and a villager ©存在建筑
Project Team: Archermit
Leading Architect: Pan Youcai
Design Director: Yang Zhe (Partner)
Technical Director: Chen Renzhen (Partner)
Structural Engineer: Du Xu
Design Team Members: Li Zihan, Hu Qinmei, Ye Shuhua, He Yi, Gou Yuanjun, Ge Xiangxin, Yang Rui, Liang Guisheng, Wang Qian, Li Gang, Zhang Wei
Construction Drawing Designed by: Chengdu CNASMITH Group Co., Ltd.
Project Location: Yongjiang Village, Zhuhai Town, Changning County, Yibin, Sichuan Province
Floor Area: 533 square meters
Term of Design: February-May 2019
Owner: Sichuan Zhongrui Jinye Cultural Tourism Co., Ltd.