Studio 12

Shelters for the Shimao Archaeological Site

Qinghua Guo & Jingcong (Andy) Liu

Studio Description

Shimao was a walled city dating back to prehistoric China. The archaeological excavation was started in 2012, since then several monuments and sites have been unearthed, including the east gate and the citadel gate. Positioned in the important parts of the city, the gates stay unprotected. How to design shelters to protect archaeological remains interest various specialists worldwide. It is a problem that the shelters cut out of the original context even though the remains are still in-situ. Lacking architectural forms, scales and volumes give visitors fragmented pictures of the remains and broken experience of the place, which has been a critical and not well resolved issue. This studio is aimed to design shelters for the citadel gate, with intention to have multiple functions. That is, the primary role is to retard deterioration, and at the same time the shelters serve presentation functions. The challenge is with an effective preservation to minimize water ingress while providing display for visitors.

Studio Outcome

The characteristic of this studio is to integrate heritage and conservation. The expected outcome is a design thesis. The objective is to help the student develop their area of specialization. The students are required to propose a new architectural solution around the archaeological site, reinterpret the cultural and architectural history through a contemporary lens and develop an innovative material/structural approach that learns from and references typologies from the past. Please Note: Students who wish to do a research-based thesis with no design need to be assessed on a case by case basis. The MSD would need to review your folios for Studio C, D and E to determine if you have met the accreditation requirements before approval would be given.

Studio Leader

Qinghua Guo PhD, Professor of Asian Architecture, teaches architectural conservation, Wooden Furniture Workshop, Craft in Traditional Asian Architecture and Design Studio at the MSD. Her expertise is developmental history, structural typology and building technology. Her research interest is design history, building culture and structural study to explore architectural-cultural exchanges across the Asia region. Jingcong (Andy) Liu is a registered architect in Australia, studied architecture at Melbourne School of Design, Bachelor of Environments (Architecture) and Master of Architecture. He worked with MAD Architects (2013) being part of their feature projects Haerbin Theatre and Chaoyang Park in China, with Elenberg Fraser (2015) and XO-Projects (2016). He was leading two master studio at MSD in 2018.

Readings & References

• The East Gate of Shimao: An architectural interpretation https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2017.05.001
• The first Neolithic urban center on China's north Loess Plateau: The rise and fall of Shimao https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2017.02.004
• When peripheries were centres: a preliminary study of the Shimao-centred polity in the loess highland, China https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2018.31P
• Getty conservation institute LA, Shelters for archaeological sites Project https://www.getty.edu/conservation/our_projects/education/shelters/guidelines.html
• Interpretation Centre, Volubilis (a ruined pre-Roman city in North Morocco) http://www.herskhazeen.com/volubilis-visitor-center/
• EI Brujo Archeological Site on the northern Peruvian pacific coast, Peru. https://www.anywhere.com/peru/attractions/el-brujo-complex-archaeological-site
• Castillo de Cala, medieval fortification, Huelva, Spain. https://www.archdaily.com/378081/castillo-de-cala-intervention-republica-dm

Schedule Mondays 15:15-18:15 in Room 237; Thursdays 15:15-18:15 in Room 239

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