Sui County Hemei Center: A Model of Rural Revitalization by UP Architecture

Located in Suizhou, Hubei, the Sui County Hemei Center is a groundbreaking rural revitalization project designed by UP Architecture. Spanning 338 m² and completed in 2024, this project demonstrates how architectural innovation can drive community development, cultural preservation, and sustainable tourism. Photographed by Archi-Translator, the project was led by architect Zhou Chao and developed in collaboration with the China Foundation for Rural Development and five villages across three towns in Suixian County.

Revitalizing Rural Resources

The core philosophy of the Hemei Center is “Harmonious and Beautiful Villages,” focusing on transforming idle rural assets into vibrant, multi-functional spaces. Abandoned houses, assembly halls, and historical sites were repurposed into cycling stations, leisure courtyards, rural museums, cafés, and art restaurants, creating an interconnected rural cluster. This network not only boosts regional tourism around the Dahongshan Scenic Area but also stimulates local economic growth, agricultural sales, and employment opportunities.

Key transformations include:

• Yujiawan Old House → Cycling station, offering rest stops along the greenway.
• Zhenzhuquan Village Assembly Hall → Intangible cultural heritage museum, preserving rural history.
• Chang'andian Qing Dynasty Temple Site → Café, blending rammed-earth walls with modern timber construction.
• Collapsed Residence → Art restaurant, integrating steel structures with native greenery.

These five renovated buildings are connected via a greenway loop, creating urban-rural interaction hubs that encourage cultural exchange and economic circulation.

Design Approach: Spatial Catalyst & Local Construction

The project adopts an anthropological and participatory design approach, using three main strategies to activate rural spaces:

1. Spatial Reconfiguration – Maintaining the memory of the original sites while adding functional value. The cycling station preserves the L-shaped house layout around a ginkgo courtyard. Leisure courtyards retain traditional arrangements, enhanced with rooftop terraces and private guest areas for tourism and public events.
2. The cycling station preserves the L-shaped house layout around a ginkgo courtyard.
3. Leisure courtyards retain traditional arrangements, enhanced with rooftop terraces and private guest areas for tourism and public events.
4. Appropriate Construction – Combining local materials with low-tech building methods. Leisure courtyards utilize 300mm composite red-brick walls for improved insulation. Cafés merge glued-laminated timber frames with rammed-earth walls, balancing heritage and modern functionality.
5. Leisure courtyards utilize 300mm composite red-brick walls for improved insulation.
6. Cafés merge glued-laminated timber frames with rammed-earth walls, balancing heritage and modern functionality.
7. Light Intervention – Minimal interference to allow flexible future growth. Art restaurants bridge collapsed stone walls with steel, preserving natural vegetation. Museums feature steel volumes with polycarbonate paneling, engaging in dialogue with historic wooden trusses.
8. Art restaurants bridge collapsed stone walls with steel, preserving natural vegetation.
9. Museums feature steel volumes with polycarbonate paneling, engaging in dialogue with historic wooden trusses.

Community Co-Creation

A hallmark of the Hemei Center is active village participation. The project uses a partnership model in the leisure courtyards to encourage youth entrepreneurship, creating a complete loop of design–construction–operation. These architectural nodes act as catalysts for greenway economies, cultural preservation, and urban-rural connectivity, strengthening community identity.

Sustainable Practices and Future Expansion

The Hemei Center emphasizes sustainability and urban-rural integration.

• The museum hosts intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and promotes creative industries.
• The café serves as a community interaction hub.
• The art restaurant explores cultural-tourism integration.

This model of “idle resource revitalization + community co-creation” has become a replicable prototype for rural revitalization in Suixian County, with plans to expand across multiple villages in the Dahongshan region.

Architectural Significance

The Sui County Hemei Center showcases architecture as a medium for social equity, cultural empowerment, and regional development. By combining heritage conservation, sustainable design, and participatory planning, UP Architecture demonstrates how thoughtful design can transform rural landscapes into vibrant, economically and culturally active communities.

All photographs are works of  Archi-Translator