v studio perpetuates shanty town debris through functional memorials

v studio has proposed an urban upgrading solution with ‘sealing’ — an artwork which is created to preserve the memory of a demolished town. the site is located in a shanty town on the right bank of the yuan river in changde, hunan province. 

the ‘sealing’ is created to preserve the memory of the demolished town
all images © v studio, changde feng niao

the shanty towns will be completely replaced by a brand new modern city in the near future. nowadays the place is full of ruins, which, the designer says, creates a strong sense of depression. the demolition of each family’s building is different as they use different materials in their houses. every ruin represents the family’s preferences, taste and economic status. ‘sealing’ aims to preserve and solidify these ‘micro-expressions’.

every ruin represents the family’s preferences

first of all, the design team collects building and decoration materials from the debris, and identifies the exact location of the house and owner’s name, confirming its GPS position. when enough material is collected, the debris will be sealed with cement and turned into a cube. after drying, each side of the cube is cut, so the internal material is visible. the last step is to carve the collected household information on the ‘sealing’ — each body has a corresponding relationship with its original space.

the last step is to carve the collected household information on the ‘sealing’

these cubes are then placed in the public space of the new city — memorizing its history. due to their sizes — 75 x 75 x 75 cm and 45 x 45 x 45 cm — the pieces can serve as street furniture such as tables and chairs. ‘sealing’ is an interactive and customized program, within which residents can request to seal items that are most precious for them. these unique sealed bodies form the city’s memory kernel and tell the story of the city itself.

the pieces will memorize the history of the demolished city

conceptual sketches

collecting of the materials

working process

cutting

project info:

designer: hu quanchun 
creation assistants: he guowei, wang songliang, xiang yu
supervision: xiao bin
production: liu jianwen, liu jianwu, sun deli, chen shuguo, chenlihua
sponsors: changdekonland urban development co. ltd., beijing art intervenes
photography: v studio, changde feng niao

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: maria erman | designboom