HE INTERACTION Community by PMT Partners – Transforming Village Fabric into a Cultural Anchor
HE INTERACTION Community by PMT Partners transforms an old village building into a vibrant cultural hub blending art, heritage, and community.
A Vision Rooted in Community & Culture
Launched in 2022 by the HE Foundation in partnership with the Shunde District Social Innovation Center, the HE INTERACTION project sets out to rethink community-space through art, culture, architecture and social engagement. PMT Partners were commissioned to lead the transformation of a vacant four-storey homestead in Ronggui’s Fisherman’s Wharf precinct into a dynamic platform for local culture, art activities and community interaction.
From Idle Building to Cultural Anchor
The original building sat idle for years within the dense typology of a village bordering an industrial zone. It bridged city, village and factory—overlooked yet key. PMT’s design asked key questions:
- How to give the building an identity, make it visible in the neighbourhood?
- How to treat it as space not just object, so it co-exists with surroundings?
- How to reflect local cultural elements and reveal the site’s “genes”?
- And how to express layers of time, allowing history to show through?
Architectural Strategy: “Spiritual Lighthouse” & Everyday Field
On the rooftop, they placed a light volume with inverted arch and slender columns—a symbol of welcome, of gathering. During day the volume echoes wings; at night it glows as a beacon for the neighbourhood. At the street level, a bold red volume lines the alley, with slender windows framing interior displays and community interaction. This dual gesture (“ritual at the top” + “grounded daily life below”) anchors the project both spiritually and socially.
Design Details: Gaps, Layers & Hidden Histories
PMT Partners honoured the building’s past by preserving raw concrete slabs, red-brick walls and narrow alley setbacks. The facade’s slender vertical windows frame views out to life in the street and invite interaction. Interior floors reflect old/new: antique red tile pod flooring meets a display wall from 500 mm to 2,900 mm height — new layer over historical base. The building becomes a timeline in built form.
Community Activation & Cultural Ecology
More than architecture, the HE INTERACTION Community is a platform for cultural regeneration. With partners including 7+5 Public Welfare Design Organisation, the site hosts exhibitions, workshops, writing groups and neighbour-driven programmes. The ambition: spark a regional art ecology, reinvigorate urban villages, strengthen dialogue between local culture and contemporary life.
All the photographs are works of Zhe Zeng, Liky Lam, PMT Partners
