RETURNING SEASON
The Returning Season is a feminist spatial strategy responding to the socio-demographic legacies of China’s one-child policy and the decline of rural intergenerational living. Set in Huajiawa village, the project reimagines the siheyuan courtyard as an adaptable infrastructure of care and return.
The architectural resolution begins with Jísī Tíng — the Courtyard of Collective Thinking — the first structure to rise from the landscape of abandonment. From a traditional 3×3m bay system, a modular roof system is developed — responsive in pitch, span, and programme — forming the spatial language of the entire project.
Time is treated as a spatial collaborator. Throughout the day, for example, the Jísī Tíng courtyards shift in use: a breakfast stall becomes a shaded reading corner, which later transforms into a site of evening storytelling.
This system extends across the site to generate a family of courtyard clusters: Yíngchūn Mén, Tīngzhú Xuān, Jìngxīn Tíng, Tónglè Yuàn, and Yíhé Fāng. Each offers a distinct rhythm of use and atmosphere, collectively shaping a replicable design framework.
