Located within the Qionglai Kiln Site Park near Chengdu, the Architecture / Art Innovation Laboratory is CLAB’s first office and a long-term rural practice platform. The project transforms a historic site—once a center of ceramic production—into a space for construction experiments, artistic residency, and new forms of social interaction.

Rather than treating architecture as an isolated object, the project is conceived as an intervention into rural society. It operates simultaneously on three levels: experimentation in construction methods, exploration of rural development, and the reconfiguration of social relationships.

The building is constructed primarily from rammed earth, a traditional material deeply rooted in rural China. Instead of using it as a superficial finish, the project develops rammed earth as a structural system. With technical support from research teams, its performance has been enhanced to meet contemporary seismic standards, enabling it to function as a safe and durable load-bearing structure.

The construction process is as significant as the building itself. Local workers were trained during the building process, turning construction into a form of knowledge transfer. In this way, rammed earth becomes not only a material but also a medium through which skills, labor, and social relations are reactivated and circulated within the rural context.

Spatially, the project adopts a system of small structural cores—rammed earth “tube” units—that resist lateral forces and define the structural framework. Between these cores, open and flexible spaces are formed, allowing for diverse uses. This structural logic—“shear-resistant cores with free plan”—provides both stability and adaptability, offering a prototype for rural public buildings.

The building integrates multiple functions, including studio spaces, artist and architect residencies, and a semi-public tea room. Private living spaces are contained within the rammed earth volumes, while the interstitial areas form fluid communal spaces. Daily work, living, and public activities overlap, creating a continuous environment of production and exchange.

While rooted in traditional construction, the project also accommodates contemporary living standards. Modern systems such as air conditioning and hot water are integrated through rethought building envelopes, including a structural thermal-break façade and a low-cost integrated insulated roof system. These adaptations allow the building to reconcile pre-modern construction methods with modern comfort.

Lighting is treated as a spatial structure rather than an applied element. A network of tension and compression members forms a suspended lighting installation, embedding illumination within the structural logic of the building.

Set within a landscape shaped by centuries of craft and agriculture, the laboratory does not replicate history, but extends it. It reinterprets traditional materials and techniques within a contemporary framework, allowing them to participate in current social and spatial conditions.

More than a building, the project is an ongoing experiment. It positions architecture as a catalyst—linking material, labor, and knowledge—and as a means of engaging with the evolving realities of rural life.