Re-Enchantment Design has unveiled an innovative temporary coastal theater, a dynamic outdoor installation designed for the Midsummer 2025 cultural festival. Located in the picturesque Chaoshan region of Guangdong Province, China, this unique structure serves as a multi-functional venue, seamlessly integrating theater, performance art, exhibition areas, and a public garden. The project is a testament to sustainable design and community collaboration, drawing inspiration from local building traditions while embracing contemporary architectural solutions to create a vibrant hub for artistic and social interaction.
The coastal area of Chaoshan, known for its distinctive cultural heritage, has experienced rapid development, transforming from agricultural land into a resort destination since 2015. Despite these changes, the local beach remains a cherished common space for residents, workers, and tourists alike. This rich, shared environment profoundly influenced the design philosophy of the Beach Temporary Theater, aiming to create a adaptable public space that caters to diverse community needs and activities.
During their initial research, the design team from Re-Enchantment Design discovered a traditional bamboo construction method frequently used by local villagers for ceremonial structures such as wedding and funeral sheds. These bamboo edifices are prized for their lightness, resilience to coastal weather, and their capacity for repeated assembly and disassembly. Inspired by this sustainable practice, the design team adopted bamboo as a primary building material and engaged local artisans, experienced in these traditional techniques, to participate in the construction process.
Instead of merely reproducing historical forms, Re-Enchantment Design Studio reinterpreted the fundamental spatial and structural elements of traditional squatter huts. This reinterpretation focused on features like elevated stilted construction, ideal for transitional land-water environments, open frameworks, and clustered settlement patterns. These principles were then integrated into a hybrid system that marries industrial steel trusses with vernacular bamboo scaffolding. The steel framework provides essential stability against severe coastal weather, including typhoons, while facilitating quick setup and dismantling. The bamboo scaffolding, a result of collaborative effort with local builders, forms a flexible and adaptive secondary layer. The internal layout is modular, featuring an open-air cinema, a stage, relaxation zones, pop-up shops, and workshops, all arranged to foster an interconnected and permeable environment that encourages spontaneous social interactions and overlapping activities. The ultimate goal is to create a dynamic public living space, rather than a conventional, single-purpose venue.
A central tenet of the design from its inception was the commitment to material reuse. All bamboo components are designed for easy disassembly and subsequent collection, ensuring they can be repurposed by local builders for future projects. By adopting the construction logic of temporary settlements, the project exemplifies a circular approach to material utilization and fosters a harmonious relationship between architectural intervention, indigenous knowledge, and the ecological context. This design not only provides a functional space but also celebrates the cultural ingenuity of the Chaoshan region, offering a model for sustainable and community-centric development.
The Beach Temporary Theater masterfully integrates local construction techniques with contemporary modular systems and collaborative building processes. This temporary architectural marvel not only respects local practices but also accommodates modern cultural programs, positioning transient design as a vital mechanism for connecting local communities, visitors, and the ever-changing coastal landscape through shared spatial and material frameworks.