Incision | Nantou City Guesthouse: a portal between memory and present

Incision | Nantou City Guesthouse transforms an existing building in the heart of Shenzhen, China, into a place that intertwines history and the present. A project that delves into urban memory to create new spaces for gathering and reflection.

Weaving together history and present

The intervention by neri&hu architects takes place in the heart of Nantou City, an ancient city later engulfed by the metropolis of Shenzhen. Here, the phenomenon of cheng-zhong-cun, which literally means village in the city, reveals contrasts between history and modernity, tradition and rapid growth. The adaptive reuse of the building for eleven rooms becomes an opportunity to breathe new life into a complex urban fabric. In architectural projects, the ability to preserve memory and generate current meanings is crucial: in the case of the project Incision | Nantou City Guesthouse, the intervention transforms into a tool for openness, dialogue, and rebirth.

Engravings evoking archaeological excavations

Inspired by the energy of the alleyways of Nantou, the network of narrow streets, squares, and dead-end alleys that characterize the city, the project uses the strategy of "urban cutting" to open up the existing structure and create internal public spaces. Each engraving reveals material layers as in an archaeological excavation, establishing an unexpected dialogue between past and present. On one side, screened and light facades are glimpsed, on the other expressive assemblages that define the skyline: the approach does not imitate history, but reinterprets it with an architectural language that intertwines lightness and density.

Dialogue with the urban village

Inspired by the landscape of the rooftops of Nantou, alive with vegetable gardens and improvised gardens, the guesthouse's roof transforms into a new collective space. A floating roof offers panoramic views of the city and hosts public functions, reinterpreting in a contemporary key the typical spontaneous additions of residents. The access to the structure itself is designed to integrate with the fabric of the narrow alleys: a new entrance ideally continues a side street, inviting residents to enter as if they were guests in a private home.

Ruins as an aesthetic resource

Inside, old and new coexist in an architecture that celebrates ruins as an aesthetic resource. The urban axis rises vertically with a new internal courtyard, obtained by opening the original staircase void. Natural light penetrates from above, while a suspended metal staircase guides visitors to the rooms and ultimately to the public garden on the roof. The concept of incision does not indicate destruction, but generation of meanings: a gesture that makes the private history of the building readable and intertwines it with the vitality of the city, transforming the guesthouse into a portal between memory and present.

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neri&hu architects

322 Jiao Zhou Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai City, China 200071