Porcelain Studios Plugin Revival: Revitalizing Jingdezhen’s Historic Porcelain District

The Porcelain Studios Plugin Revival, designed by People’s Architecture Office (PAO) in collaboration with Liu Kecheng Design Studio, is a pioneering renovation project located in Jingdezhen, China. Spanning 2,700 m² and completed in 2024, the project transforms long-abandoned porcelain studios within the Imperial Kiln Historic District into vibrant, multi-functional spaces for living, working, and cultural engagement.

Unlike previous civic-scale interventions, this phase focuses on the fine-grain historic courtyards and timber-framed workshops, breathing new life into the everyday architecture of porcelain production while respecting the historic materiality of the district.

Innovative Plugin Architecture The project employs PAO’s signature Plugin Architecture strategy, which introduces prefabricated modular units directly into existing buildings. These self-contained, lightweight, and insulated units provide year-round comfort without altering the original timber frames, brick walls, or tiled roofs. By embedding functions like sleeping, working, cooking, and gathering, the Plugin system seamlessly integrates contemporary needs with the historic fabric.

Courtyard Interventions

• Courtyard C34: A triangular site accommodates three artists. Two former porcelain workshops and two small dwellings are transformed into individual and communal spaces, including a shared kitchen and private Plugin units for sleeping and working.
• Courtyard H20: A single artist inhabits a studio with a mezzanine bedroom, flexible workspace, and openable façades that reconnect interior and courtyard.
• Courtyard P58: Three artist studios occupy a long workshop, each featuring ground-floor offices and lofted sleeping areas. An adjacent building becomes a public gallery and gathering space.
• Yanghua Lane: A new café anchors a courtyard framed by three historic studios and an L-shaped residence, with multiple Plugin units supporting group residencies and collaborative activities.

Across all sites, the Plugin system adapts to diverse spatial conditions, maintaining a cohesive architectural language while responding to irregular geometries and evolving programmatic needs.

Sustainable & Contextual Design By respecting the architectural grain of Jingdezhen’s porcelain heritage, Porcelain Studios Plugin Revival provides a replicable model for adaptive reuse. This approach enhances cultural continuity, supports community engagement, and bridges the gap between historic preservation and contemporary functionality.

The project demonstrates a thoughtful balance between openness and privacy, activating previously underused spaces and creating a micro-community within a historic urban fabric.

Porcelain Studios Plugin Revival exemplifies innovative cultural architecture and sustainable renovation, highlighting how modular interventions can enrich historic districts while preserving the essence of their heritage. This project celebrates the interconnectedness of making, living, and memory, offering a forward-looking model for future adaptive reuse initiatives.

All Photographs are works of Yumeng Zhu