Linpan settlements represent the quintessential agrarian lifestyle of the Chengdu Plain, tracing back to the ancient Shu civilization and continuing across millennia to the present day. Typically centered around a homestead, multiple farmhouse courtyards are freely combined, with bamboo groves and various fruit trees and tall trees serving as natural boundaries between residences. These small clustered settlements are scattered across the vast " Granary of Sichuan," forming natural villages that integrate farming, living, and leisure. Herbal Fragrant Cottage is situated in Tianxing Village in the Xindu District, north of Chengdu, nestled within a thousand acres of fertile fields.

Like other Linpan in Tianxing Village, the site is located at the center of farmland, surrounded by greenery. Looking at the Linpan, it resembles admiring a pastoral painting, where the farmland serves both as foreground and background, providing a sense of distance while highlighting the Linpan as the focal point. The network of paths allows easy access, inviting one to step into the painting at any moment.

This mirrors the subtlety of classical Chinese landscape paintings. The mountains, forests, and waters are left unpainted, with the focus concentrated on one or a few corners of the scene. When multiple Linpan are situated in the same field, it resembles viewing a horizontal scroll painting, where the expansive farmland is left blank, and the narrative unfolds within each Linpan.

The design imagery of Herbal Fragrant Cottage isn't solely about a specific rural element; instead, it's the agricultural life scenes within the Linpan that we aim to present as the most significant imagery.

We have studied the garden layouts, architectural forms, and compositional relationships in the ancient "Farming and Weaving Picture", Shen Zhou's "Dongzhuang Painting" from the Ming Dynasty, as well as various versions of the "Wangchuan Painting". We have combined the spatial forms of the original site, the rural environment, and the scenes of life depicted in millennium-old paintings to create multiple relatively independent yet interconnected canvases. These canvases incorporate different Linpan life scenes, forming vivid images that reflect the original texture of the site's buildings and blend seamlessly with the rural surroundings.

The land is divided by the only road leading into the Linpan, resulting in the project being split into two parts. The smaller area is transformed into a rural gathering place, primarily consisting of a teahouse and a multifunctional hall. The larger area is comprised of residential plots for multiple households, serving mainly as guesthouse accommodations and private kitchens.

The rural areas of the Chengdu Plain differ from mountain villages. Due to the open terrain, they present a more straightforward appearance. We define circulation with walls and farmland, while orienting the building entrances towards the roads to create a more open feeling. The secluded paths or doorstep entry typical of mountain villages are not applicable here; instead, we aim for a sensation of "opening the window to see the fields."

The entrance of the Linpan is typically a publicly accessible area. It may feature a relatively open space reserved as a gathering area for villagers or a small shop serving the community. We have designed the rural gathering place to be partially recessed and positioned towards one corner of the entrance, with a large overhanging eave creating an outdoor seating area. This area also serves as the entrance porch to the gathering place and connects seamlessly with the open front yard, providing space for neighbors to gather and socialize.

Based on the demand for agricultural culture stemming from the "Granary of the Land of Abundance," the roof of the rural gathering place incorporates design elements inspired by granaries and rice measures. This design sets the building apart from adjacent guesthouses in terms of external appearance, giving it a more public architectural image.

The tea room on the ground floor of the reception hall is sunken, allowing seated individuals to gaze at the surrounding farmland at eye level. The tea-drinking scene is enveloped by the fields, with a clear distinction between indoor and outdoor spaces, creating a sense of isolation from the farmland. The windows serve as canvases, presenting the vast landscape of wheat and rice rotation, depicting the wonders of the changing seasons.

The multifunctional hall on the second floor offers the opportunity to listen to the wind, watch the rain, and admire the fields. The main space is more inward-looking and can be transformed into various functional settings depending on operation needs, such as meditation, study tours, or conferences.

The pitched roof is partially lifted, creating viewing balconies on two sides of the building, serving as supplementary spaces for relaxing and enjoying distant views. The viewing surfaces of the balconies integrate scenes from both upstairs and downstairs, indoors and outdoors, resembling scroll paintings. The roof and railing frame the scenery, capturing views of the farmland and Linpan from different angles.

A viewing platform is inserted on the north side of the roof, connecting the building with the internal landscape of the Linpan and the subsequent Phase Two scenes, providing tourists with an aerial viewpoint for photo opportunities.

In order to balance the efficiency of the entire site and the traditional architectural style of the rural countryside, the guesthouse and private kitchen buildings are integrated into a single structure. The roof is divided to create multiple sections, resembling a natural combination of several buildings, while also accommodating practical functions such as viewing, shading, and drainage for each surface.

The guesthouse and private kitchen share a common entrance, incorporating the four elements of forest, fields, water, and residence from the Linpan into the spatial arrangement, creating a small world of its own.

The circulation between the restaurant and accommodation areas is lively and interesting — the flow lines do not distinguish clear priorities. Random Linpan pathways are integrated into spatial circulation, incorporating the incidental opening and closing of the site with scenic viewpoints. This allows for the joy of admiring beautiful scenery while strolling through the Linpan, glimpsing through the trees and buildings.

Through small passages and platforms, the main spaces and circulation spaces are rhythmically connected, reducing the number of stairs in the entire building. Multiple viewpoints and outdoor lobbies are provided at traffic nodes, creating architectural "breathing points" and reducing the bulkiness of the building.

The road adjacent to the farmland is relocated to the interior of the Linpan, allowing the building courtyards to directly connect with the farmland. This integration brings the countryside into each courtyard, where every room forms its own courtyard, providing exclusive access to the rural landscape.

The integrated development of urban and rural areas is the fundamental strategy for rural revitalization. How to combine diverse resource endowments with rural development needs and create mutually beneficial functional formats is the direction we strive for in projects of this type.

"Herbal" aims to enrich project operations by integrating the traditional Chinese medicine planting industry in Xindu, linking functions and formats such as medicinal cuisine, herbal soups, and therapy. Additionally, it seeks to enhance the indigenous plant resources within the Linpan.

"Fragrant Cottage" is based on various fragrances such as incense, scholarly aroma, floral scent, rice fragrance, and wheat fragrance. It combines these fragrances with grass to form a cottage, representing a unique expression condensed from multiple dimensions including functional formats, architectural forms, agricultural culture, and environmental resources.

"Linpan as the canvas, life as painting" This vivid interpretation of rural scenes undoubtedly provides new ideas for the expansion of surrounding Linpan, and even for the development of Linpan across the Chengdu Plain. Combining the portrayal of traditional agricultural life with modern functional formats and placing them within the Linpan, it turns it into a vibrant and distinctive paradise, with relatively independent and pure yet rustic spaces.

In addition to serving as a demonstration for local Linpan development, Herbal Fragrant Cottage also provides a new lifestyle for urban dwellers. By utilizing the diversity of rural areas to complement urban functions, it has to some extent promoted the integration of urban and rural areas. This also resonates with the Chinese people's deep-seated longing for courtyard homes and rural life.