Bronze Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2026
Tongxiang Red Education Center
by Jie Li
- A' Design Award 2026 Bronze Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: Atelier Tssh
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 6,584
- Verification code 6732802491 · Verify this award
About Tongxiang Red Education Center
Tongxiang Red is an education center in Shufeng Village, a water town in Tongxiang, Jiaxing. The site was formerly the Tongxiang Huaneng Tower Factory, built in the 1980s, and is surrounded by water on three sides. The new building keeps the orientation and the volume of the former factory, so the place retains a familiar landmark. The exhibition halls are clad in curved perforated aluminum panels in red and ochre, layered to suggest fluttering flags. A weathering steel gateway leads from an old bridge into the courtyard. The center covers 6195 square meters.
Jie Li's Tongxiang Red Education Center emerges from a carefully composed waterside landscape as an exercise in architectural boldness and material clarity, positioning the work within contemporary traditions that celebrate expressive structural form and honest material presence while drawing upon deeper lineages of civic architecture that employ color, mass, and siting to establish institutional presence and cultural significance, the design demonstrating sophisticated engagement with questions that have animated architecture across centuries regarding how buildings might simultaneously serve functional imperatives while achieving symbolic resonance and aesthetic distinction within their communities. The compositional achievement of the building resides substantially in its masterful handling of asymmetrical balance, the steeply pitched roofline creating dynamic upward movement that prevents the substantial horizontal mass from appearing ponderous or static, while the strategic cantilever over the dark recessed base generates visual lightness despite the building's evident material heft and volumetric presence, the architect skillfully employing the hovering effect to suggest simultaneous groundedness and elevation, rootedness and aspiration. The chromatic sophistication of the work deserves particular recognition, the selection of deep terracotta red for the primary cladding system demonstrating nuanced understanding of color's capacity to function simultaneously at multiple registers, the warm red-orange reading as culturally resonant within regional building traditions while achieving striking contemporaneity through its deployment across a boldly geometric sculptural form, the hue's inherent warmth and earthiness grounding the building experientially even as its saturation and uniformity create memorable visual impact, the color choice further demonstrating technical intelligence in its harmonic relationship with the site's natural palette including the warm neutral tones of the stone masonry plinth and the seasonal colors of the surrounding landscape, while establishing maximum chromatic intensity through complementary contrast with the cool blue-grey atmospheric envelope of the sky. The facade articulation through continuous vertical ribbing or fin elements reveals sophisticated tectonic thinking, the linear modulation serving multiple simultaneous functions including creating richly textured surface that captures and modulates natural light producing subtle tonal variations across the red volume throughout diurnal and seasonal cycles, establishing human scale and visual interest across the substantial building mass, suggesting both historical brick or tile construction and contemporary rainscreen technology thereby bridging tradition and innovation, and generating rhythmic visual cadence that prevents monotony while maintaining overall formal coherence. The fenestration strategy demonstrates equally thoughtful design resolution, the punched openings reading as carefully calibrated voids that provide necessary transparency and interior illumination while maintaining the integrity of the solid red volume, the windows' deep reveals emphasizing the substantial thickness and three-dimensional quality of the cladding system while creating dramatic interior spatial qualities through the framing of light and view, the varied scales and proportions of apertures from tall vertical slots to horizontal bands to smaller scattered openings creating syncopated rhythm that enlivens the facade while suggesting the varied programmatic spaces within. The integration of architecture with landscape and water features reveals holistic environmental design thinking, the building sited to create meaningful relationships with constructed and natural landscape elements, the stone retaining wall establishing a transitional datum between water and land while its warm neutral masonry tones mediate between the saturated red of the building and the cooler tones of water and sky, the reflective water body functioning not merely as picturesque amenity but as active compositional element that doubles the visual presence of the architecture through mirrored inversion while introducing contemplative stillness and the ever-changing qualities of reflected light and sky, the strategic placement of trees both bare-branched deciduous specimens and the graceful willow providing organic contrast to geometric architecture while framing views and establishing seasonal markers that ensure the building will be experienced differently across the annual cycle. What meanings might emerge from sustained contemplation of how this building negotiates between bold contemporary expression and cultural continuity, between institutional authority and community accessibility, between material presence and environmental integration, and how does the architect's handling of color, form, mass, and siting invite visitors and passersby to experience civic architecture as simultaneously functional infrastructure and meaningful place?
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The Red Culture Education Center of Tongxiang City is located in Shufeng Village in Tongxiang. The village is located in the far suburbs of the city and its space presents a scattered aggregation along the rural roads and natural water bodies. In 2021, Shufeng Village was successfully selected as one of the first batch of Jiaxing City's rural revitalization demonstration villages. The local government decided to build the Red Culture Education Center of Tongxiang City based on the unique red resources of Shufeng Village, hoping to enhance the public's recognition of the village's past red history through the construction of the center, and at the same time attract tourists and students from surrounding cities to further invigorate the village and deeply promote rural revitalization.
The original factory, as an industrial building from a special historical period, has a huge volume that contrasts sharply with the surrounding residential houses. As a production site, many local residents have worked here. Therefore, both spatially and psychologically, this factory is like an anchor point in the rural landscape, anchoring people's memories to this specific place.
According to the exhibition requirements, the original single-story factory needs to be added to three floors. After fully assessing the cost of structural reinforcement and the construction period, the owner decided to demolish the original factory. To reflect the role of the original factory as a spatial anchor point, the design maintains the original orientation and volume of the factory. Under the premise of meeting the exhibition needs inside, the external volume can still serve as an anchor point for the site space and interact with the place. - Dimensions & Packaging
- 6195 m²
- Tags
- architecture, renovation project, rural revitalization,
- Production Technology
- The main pedestrian entrance of the venue is located on the southeast side of the site. Visitors can cross the ancient bridge to enter the courtyard. The entrance of the courtyard is an independent door-shaped entrance space made of weathering steel plates. The inwardly inclined metal door opening is like a focusing lens, which can guide people's vision to the red-themed sculpture at the starting point of the outdoor exhibition. The building's facade of the exhibition hall is made of curved perforated aluminum panels in red and ochre colors. Through the interlacing of layers, a spatial effect of fluttering flags is created. The bright-colored and large-sized perforated aluminum panel facade contrasts sharply with the surrounding white walls and grey tiles, allowing the red elements to extend into the inner courtyard. The designer uses a relatively restrained architectural language to abstractly express the red Party building theme of the Party History Museum.
- Design Challenge
- Starting from the architectural phenomenology, Steven Holl proposed how to "anchor" buildings in their sites and how to make buildings carry the past history while connecting to the future？ At the beginning of our design, we considered how to form an anchor point in a loose and open rural space. The original factory, as an industrial building from a special historical period, has a huge volume that contrasts sharply with the surrounding residential houses. As a production site, many local residents have worked here. We fully utilized the historical relics left from the special historical period. To reflect the role of the original factory as a spatial anchor point, the design maintained the original orientation and volume of the factory. Under the premise of meeting the exhibition requirements inside, by activating the functional entities of the building, the external volume can still serve as an anchor point for the site space and interact with the place. This achieves an anchor point both in the spatial sense and the psychological sense. This factory is like an anchor point in the rural field, anchoring people's memories with this specific place.
In different historical periods, rural areas have developed various economic models and political propositions, thus leaving behind diverse rural forms and spatial types. How can we explore a path of coexistence and integration with history in spatial design? Colin Rowe, when contemplating urban structure, proposed the "crisis of the solid" and the "dilemma of texture", pointing out that modern cities lack the ability to enclose space, resulting in negative and lost spaces. Therefore, when facing the spatial forms of rural areas, we present a void square within the solid rural area to achieve a spatial meaning that is inclusive. The village where the site is located has a relatively loose figure-ground relationship. The southeast side features naturally and organically grown residences along the river, while the north side consists of new rural residences with regular forms and unified styles. Various spatial elements are pasted together without any morphological connection. In the design of the building scheme, within the spacious and loose spatial structure around, an attempt is made to create an inwardly enclosed space by utilizing the existing factory space and corridors. To a certain extent, this alleviates the "crisis of the solid" formed by the separation of individual building spaces in this area, and also provides the village with an inward-oriented public space where people can gather. - Project Duration
- The project started in March 2022 in Shufeng Village, Shimen Town, Tongxiang, Jiaxing City.And finished in August 2023.
- Operation Flow
- The architectural design aims to create an inward enclosed space by utilizing the existing factory space and connecting corridors in a spacious and loose spatial structure. Partially alleviating the "crisis of entity" caused by the separation of spatial relationships between individual buildings in the area, while also providing a gathering and inward facing public space for rural areas.
- Research
- The Red Culture Education Center of Tongxiang City is located in Shufeng Village in Tongxiang, a typical water town in the south of the Yangtze River. The local government decided to build the Red Culture Education Center of Tongxiang City based on the unique red resources of Shufeng Village, hoping to enhance the public's recognition of the village's past red history through the construction of the center, and at the same time attract tourists and students from surrounding cities to further invigorate the village and deeply promote rural revitalization.
The site was originally the Tongxiang Huaneng Tower Factory built in the 1980s. There are two casting workshops on the east side of the factory area, which have open spaces and good structural performance. When the project was initially evaluated, it was decided to transform these two workshops into exhibition spaces. At the same time, there are two century-old ginkgo trees on the site, and the site has rich cultural and natural elements, which are important clues for the architectural design of this project.
The original factory, as an industrial building of a special historical period, has a strong contrast with the surrounding residential buildings due to its large size. At the same time, as a production site, many local residents have worked here before. So both spatially and psychologically, this factory is like an anchor point on a rural field, anchoring people's memories to this specific place. According to the exhibition requirements, the original single story factory building needs to be expanded to three floors. After fully evaluating the cost of structural reinforcement and construction period, the owner decided to demolish the original factory building. In order to demonstrate the role of the original factory building as a spatial anchor point, the design maintains the orientation and volume of the original factory building. While meeting the exhibition needs internally, the external volume can still serve as an anchor point for the site space and establish a relationship with the venue.
The current situation of the village where the base is located is relatively loose in the spatial map. The southeast side is composed of naturally organic residential buildings along the river, the north side is composed of new rural residential buildings with regular and unified forms, and the rest of the open space is farmland and corresponding production facilities. There are no related collages of various spatial elements in terms of form. The architectural design aims to create an inward enclosed space by utilizing the existing factory space and connecting corridors in a spacious and loose spatial structure. Partially alleviating the "crisis of entity" caused by the separation of spatial relationships between individual buildings in the area, while also providing a gathering and inward facing public space for rural areas. - Inspiration
- Tongxiang Red Education Center is located in the south of Shufeng Village, a typical water town in the south of the Yangtze River. The village has a dense water network and a superior natural environment. The project site is surrounded by water on three sides, and there is a preserved Qing Dynasty bridge on the water body to the east, which was used for daily walking between the original factory and the village. The site was originally the Tongxiang Huaneng Tower Factory built in the 1980s. There are two casting workshops on the east side of the factory area, which have open spaces and good structural performance. When the project was initially evaluated, it was decided to transform these two workshops into exhibition spaces. At the same time, there are two century-old ginkgo trees on the site, and the site has rich cultural and natural elements, which are important clues for the architectural design of this project. The original factory, as an industrial building from a special historical period, has a huge volume that contrasts sharply with the surrounding residential houses. As a production site, many local residents have worked here. Therefore, both spatially and psychologically, this factory is like an anchor point in the rural landscape, anchoring people's memories to this specific place.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Zhu Runzi,Pespective 1, 2022.
Image #2: Photographer Zhu Runzi,Aerial view 1, 2022.
Image #3: Photographer Zhu Runzi,Pespective 2, 2022.
Image #4: Photographer Zhu Runzi,Pespective 3, 2022.
Image #5: Photographer Zhu Runzi,Pespective 4, 2022.