Luzhi

Admission Ticket for Temple and Courtyard Houses

On our way from Shanghai to Suzhou, the group had an opportunity to visit Luzhi, a famous water town in the southeast of China. With a history of more than 1400 years, the town of Luzhi is known as ‘the first water town in China’. Its old stone bridges, winding canals, and preserved historical way of life were a peaceful retreat for the group. Traditional homes and temples gave us a chance to explore the unique Chinese traditional lifestyle.


Water canal with one street in Luzhi

Through sketches and photographs the group was able to analyze the typology of the traditional Chinese water town and its applicability to our design problem in Tianjin. We discovered the typology to be a high density traditional development incorporating residential, commercial, and recreational uses into one cohesive development, working successfully through hundreds of years. The group concluded that Luzhi provided an important precedent that could be incorporated into our design solution.


Water canal with two streets linked by a stone bridge