Stone Kiln in the Valley is a small bakery and café at Lihua village entrance designed as a community gathering place inspired by pear blossoms and monumental stone formations. Seasonal observations informed the concept: winter skeletal pear trees and boulders framed paths, while spring blossoms and drifting petals guided the petal-on-stone form. The building reads as a delicate curved white rooftop resting on a grounded stone base. A steel frame with petal-like veins and five slender columns supports the roof; a single shear wall contains the bathroom. The roof uses two 3mm galvanized steel layers with rock wool insulation and decorative cement paint, keeping thickness under 160mm.
The design is shaped by repeated visits to the site, where the architects observed the dramatic seasonal changes of Lihua village. In winter, skeletal pear trees and scattered boulders framed the valley paths, while in spring, blossoms filled the air and gathered underfoot. The design team describes the fleeting scene of petals drifting among scurrying ants as a formative image, one that later guided the conception of the Stone Kiln in the Valley.
the architects at Archermit make use of a steel frame with a simplified network of petal-like veins, supported by five slender steel columns arranged in a circle. A single shear wall encloses the bathroom, hidden within the stone base. To achieve the thin, curling roof, the architects employed two layers of 3mm galvanized steel panels filled with rock wool insulation. The surface is coated with decorative cement paint, producing a matte, petal-like whiteness that is both waterproof and lightweight.
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