bengo studio redesigns a farmers' market for villagers in diankou, china

in china, bengo studio has replaced a farmers’ market constructed at the start of the millennium with a new building that better suits the current needs of the neighborhood. constructed in 2003, the original structure served the residents of xiafu village, a community located near the chinese city of zhuji. standing as the village’s most important public building, the market was open from 5am to 8am and allowed villagers to trade crops, livestock, and other goods.

all images by chen hao

as the country’s economic situation changed over the past 15 years, the market fell out of use with many sellers instead placing their stalls alongside the road that runs in front of the market. to design a replacement structure, qiu zhefeng commissioned shanghai-based firm bengo studio who, in turn, arranged for two architects to live with the villagers. the design team interviewed and investigated the needs of the community before constructing a redesigned market building.

the architects began by breaking the linear layout of the original design — replacing the sloping roof with a continuous, folded canopy. ‘the architectural boundary is dispelled, and the market thus shows a gesture of welcoming the villagers to enter from any direction,’ explains bengo studio. ‘the folded roof also allows light to enter from the sides of the eaves, greatly improving the lighting condition under the eaves.’

another important change is the new configuration of the stalls, with the enclosed sales areas ensuring a clear division between those selling and those buying. items for sale can be safely stacked inside the space, with customers afforded more room to comfortably browse the wares on offer. this also gives vendors a sense of ownership, meaning that they will spontaneously maintain their areas, and the market manager required to do less maintenance of the site.

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project info:

name: xiafu farmers’ market
location: xiafu village, shaoxing zhuji, china

function: farmers’ market
GFA: 734.6 sqm
 / 7,907 sqf

architecture firm: bengo studio
architects: xiang nan 

design team: chan kian hoong, hong yueying

design phase: 2017.11-2018.1

construction phase: 2018.1-2018.6

photography: chen hao