LLLAB.

"San Sa", formerly named as "The Third Hometown", refers to a social space created for an introspective group of people who seek a space away from everyday life to recharge the mind, body, and spirit. The project is situated on a 2,000-square-meter unused plot of land, which was originally occupied by a gas station and about forty minutes' walk from the Mutianyu Great Wall.

The original idea of the project was to build an inclusive rural oasis in a place that has been selected as one of China's top ten most beautiful villages by a number of internationally renowned media. The aim is to provide visitors with a spatial and sensory experience that evokes personal renewal, inpart by reflecting on the imagined memory of lives past. To embed within the design an appreciation for the site's heritage, we extended the existing spatial arrangement of the village, scattering the architectural blocks in-line with the typical village plan, while combining those blocks into an integrated whole. This approach enabled us to create a spatial pattern and order that blends rather seamlessly into the local built environment. By subverting the stereotypical concept of rural tourism resorts, we hope to create a kind of "village within a village" and to give this piece of land the vitality it deserves.

The visions happened to coincide; the concept of "village within village" began to develop, growing throughout the design and construction process of more than four years.

source: llLab.