ARCity Office has transformed the City Wall Heritage Workshop in Nantou Ancient Town, China.

Nantou Ancient Town is one of the largest urban villages in Shenzhen, home to over 30,000 people.

"The urban village consists of illegal peasant houses, which are typically informal spaces that have been modified year by year by the natives on their homestead land," said ARCity Office.

The architects have transformed a villager's self-built house into the mixed-use City Wall Heritage Workshop, located atop the site of an ancient Ming Dynasty city wall.

Next to the site, there is an archaeological dig where archaeologists are excavating an ancient moat from the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

This project has been longlisted in the heritage project category of Dezeen Awards 2024.

Studio: ARCity Office
Project: City Wall Heritage-Workshop
Credits:  Zhang Yuxing and Han Jing