DONG GUAN FLǍNEUR
东莞散步

Function: Tea House and Public Exhibition Center
Project Type: Renovation and Extension
Location: Dongguan, Guangdong
Design: 2021

Inspired by Cantonese pop music, I observed how diverse lifestyles interweave throughout urban development. Using poetry and painting as design methods, I studied my hometown Dongguan and proposed a network of elevated streets connecting residential communities. These aerial corridors link different urban spaces—CBDs, urban villages, and residential areas. For my design site, I chose an abandoned sales office in a medium-sized residential complex, reimagining it as a teahouse and urban exhibition hall while redesigning circulation paths and landscapes to serve both city and community residents.

我从粤语流行音乐中感受到城市发展过程中多种生活的交织。以我的家乡东莞为研究对象，通过诗歌和绘画作为设计方法，我提出了空中街道穿越小区的构想。空中廊道连接成网络，串通CBD、城中村、小区等不同类型的城市空间。我选择了一个中型小区内废弃售楼处作为设计基地，将其改建为茶楼和城市展览馆，重新规划了城市居民和小区居民的动线与景观。

东莞30年前还是渔村和农田，如今已是高楼林立。在这飞速发展的进程中，广州、深圳、香港、台湾的商人都扮演了至关重要的角色。短短二三十年间，城市经历了巨大的转变，一个发展阶段尚未完结，新的阶段便已开启。城市的每一个横截面都凝聚着不同时期、不同背景的东莞移居者。

Dongguan transformed from fishing villages and farmland into a city of skyscrapers in just 30 years. Business leaders from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Taiwan drove this change. The city developed so rapidly that new growth phases started while others were still ongoing. Looking at the city today, you can see how people from different times and places have shaped each neighborhood.

我以"散步"为概念，开始寻找"散步"的气质。
我请几位同学按照三个步骤，用点线面的方式，在纸张范围内完成一段路径。
几位同学的路径交叠，形成了一张散步的网络。
我走进这个网络，观察每个片段，思考两个点如何界定一个范围。

Using "walking" as my conceptual framework, I began exploring its essential qualities.
I invited several classmates to create paths within the confines of paper, using points, lines, and planes in a three-step process.
Their individual paths intersected, weaving together into a network of walks.
As I immersed myself in this network, I studied each fragment and examined how pairs of points could define spatial boundaries.

Xia Yu "Friction · Ineffable"
Words are gold, frankincense and myrrh. Words are cinnamon. Flesh and cassia. Because of the strange combination of these two sounds, I'm even willing to love its scent.
字是黄金、乳香和没药。字是肉桂。肉和桂。因为这两个音的奇异组合我甚至愿意喜欢它的气味。

In my view, "meat" represents hearty feasting and revelry—it's red and restless. "Osmanthus" embodies a lady by the pond admiring osmanthus flowers—fragrant and elegant. Cinnamon emerges as the juxtaposition of meat and osmanthus, yet transforms into something entirely new: a plant with an intense flavor.
I also want to create Dongguan's cinnamon.
Osmanthus represents the specific people within the community.
Meat symbolizes top-down urban planning, where high-rise office buildings, exclusive gated communities, and remnant urban villages coexist in a single frame. With one stroke of the pen, government planning places these contrasting models side by side.

在我看来，肉是大口吃肉，大口喝酒，是红色的，躁动的；桂是在池边赏桂花的女子，是清香的，优雅的。肉桂，是肉和桂的并置，又是一个全新的事物，它是一种植物，但又有强烈的味道。
我也要创造东莞的肉桂。
桂是社区内的具体的人。
肉是自上而下的城市规划，照片里同时出现高层的办公楼，只对住户开放的封闭小区，还有城市中遗留下来的农村。政府规划下的大笔一挥，如此不同的模式就并置在一起。

CBD, urban villages, gated communities, and factories sit side by side in Dongguan. My project creates a connecting pathway between these areas, letting residents explore neighboring communities and see different sides of city life.

I mapped out walking routes based on existing downtown streets, adding transition zones to link areas with different walking speeds and patterns.This network connects all parts of Dongguan.

For my design site, I chose a clubhouse in a gated community. The design here shows how I think we should update the city center.

CBD、城中村、封闭小区和工厂紧密相邻，我想规划一条带状空间，串联城市各区域，让这些因不同原因来到东莞的人，能到他人社区散步，体会这座城市的多元面貌。
我依据市中心街道规划散步节奏，并在这个网络中加入过渡段落，连接不同的步行韵律。借此方式将东莞串联成一体。
在这个整体构想中，我选择了封闭小区内的会所作为设计基地。这个小区的设计方案，代表了我对城市中心区域更新的建议。

The community center's clubhouse—originally a sales center—now stands vacant after its sales function ended. I plan to demolish this unused building and repurpose it with new functions.

I propose creating a new pedestrian network throughout the city that incorporates urban exhibitions. This network, called "Rou" (flesh), will serve as a vital component of urban infrastructure. At the community level, we'll establish public spaces called "Gui" (cassia) that will function as nodes within this pedestrian network, creating natural gathering places for residents.

The urban planning exhibition hall will help new immigrants to the city better understand their neighboring communities' way of life. It will offer insights into both past and future urban planning, enabling residents to develop informed views about local demolition and construction projects.

For this community's "Gui," I envision a teahouse. More than just a place to drink tea, it will serve as a social hub where conversation flows freely—a daily meeting point for residents of all ages. Here, people can gather to discuss their experiences and observations from the pedestrian network and urban exhibitions.

小区中心的会所前身是销售中心，如今因销售功能终止而闲置，几乎无人使用。我计划拆除这座闲置会所，为其注入全新功能。
我提议在城市中建立新的步行网络，并将其与城市展览相结合，称之为"肉"，作为城市基础设施的重要组成；同时以社区为单位建设公共空间，作为步行网络的节点，称之为"桂"，这将成为社区居民的汇聚之地。
城市规划展览馆能帮助本市众多新移民更好地了解周边邻里生活，洞悉城市规划的过去与未来，并逐步形成对周边拆迁或新建项目的独到见解。
对于这个社区的"桂"，我建议将其打造为茶楼。茶楼不仅是饮茶之所，更是交谈之地，是这片区域老少居民的日常聚集场所。居民们可以在此分享他们在步行网络和城市展览中的所见所闻，展开充分交流。

The "meat" represents the pedestrian network and urban exhibition built by the government—its form should be powerful yet sleek, with concrete as its material. The "osmanthus" is a community-built teahouse, elegant yet informal, constructed with a steel structure.

This teahouse sits between the neighborhood's artificial lake and rockery. Residents walk over from nearby, observing the cityscape and urban exhibitions along the pedestrian path before entering this sanctuary of mountains and waters—a place to drink tea, share intimate conversations, and express themselves freely.

I believe urban spaces shouldn't be designed purely from the top down. I seek to blend city facilities with lived architecture, encouraging residents to both observe and engage with their city.

“肉”是行人网络和城市展览，由政府建造，它的形态应该有力量而利落，它的材质是混凝土；桂是茶楼，由社区建造，它是优雅又是非正式的，它的材质是钢构。
这个茶楼在小区的人工湖和假山之间，居民从附近散步过来，在人行步道上看城市景观，看城市展览，然后走入山水之间，喝茶，亲密交谈，大声表达。
我想，我对于城市空间的态度是，城市的设施不应该完全是自上而下的，我要寻找一种方法，让城市的设施和生活的建筑融合唯一，以此鼓励生活在其中的居民观看城市，介入城市。

Architecture