FA | QIANGDESIGN | Archello

JIA NING ZHANG

Exclusive Release | Qiang Design: Folded Alleys, a Flowing Village

• Interior Architects

Architecture is not a cold container, but one that carries emotions and evokes memories.

——Qiang Design

01 "Fa" (Prosperity) in the Alleys

Space is not merely a physical dimension for accommodating people, but also a carrier that projects the inner world.

photo_credit JIA NING ZHANG — JIA NING ZHANG

This project, Fa (meaning "prosperity" in Chinese), is a 600-square-meter flagship board game & card room located in Wenzhou InCity Mall. Drawing inspiration from the cultural memories of "urban villages", the designers have transformed this commercial space into a "micro-settlement" that embodies childhood memories and epitomizes urban transformation. Space here is not "arranged" but "evoked": it evokes the narrow alleys where you played in childhood, the corner store that sold popsicles and soda, and the sound of mahjong tiles and laughter echoing from the shadows of tall buildings.

Therefore, within this indoor space, we witness a narrative approach filled with emotional resonance—reshaping time through space.

The floor plan is conceived as a village, with three detached private rooms at its center, like old houses in the heart of a neighborhood, exuding a familiar sense of community. The reception desk is designed to resemble that "corner store" in memory; looking up, the warmth of old-fashioned shop signs is outlined by acrylic lighting. Extending backward, the scattered private rooms mimic the "distant tall buildings standing in rows", reinterpreting the visual language of "intertwined urban and rural landscapes".

02 A Flowing Map

Taking urban texture as a clue, the designers break the conventional logic of spatial circulation. Through the rhythmic arrangement of "elevating—lowering—traversing", they divide the spatial functions into layers while ensuring mutual resonance between them. No passage exists in isolation; all are interconnected, forming a dynamically unfolding spatial map.

The three core private rooms are constructed as "detached buildings". This design not only meets the demand for privacy but also builds an emotional connection between people and the space. You can push the door and enter, wander between the two buildings, climb the steps in the alleys, or sit down in the lowered areas—experiencing an immersive "urban walk" with your body as the medium.

Public and private spaces achieve a balance in this "settlement-style layout": it not only creates a visual and psychological boundary but also adds a sense of hierarchy to the spatial experience. The design logic does not rely on linear progression, but rather the collage of "fragmented" life scenarios.

03 Dialogue and Contrast of Materials

The designed language of Fa is like an abstract reconstruction of urban texture. The designers skillfully reconcile the material dialogue between modern and retro, cold and warm, establishing a sensory synesthesia between space and emotion.

The entrance area combines steel plates with acrylic, creating a sense of ritual for "stepping into a new world". The diffused light through the acrylic casts a soft filter over the cold texture of the steel plates. The reflection of the metal is no longer a sharp glare, but a "fold of time", echoing the non-stop pinball machine at the old street corner.

The distant area uses undulating aluminum profiles to represent the urban order of reinforced concrete, while the nearby "detached buildings" are constructed with fair-faced concrete and wood-veneer finishes, symbolizing the human warmth of natural villages. Amid this contrast, the space is no longer a cold box, but a "field" that flows, collides, and blends.

The elevation and lowering of the space further enhance this sense of dislocation in urban texture—just like jumping rope in the alleyways or calling friends at the staircase entrance in childhood; the spatial circulation becomes a rhythm of memories.

04 Light Brewing Old Times

Light is the implicit narrator of the Fa space. It does not rush to spread itself, but unfolds slowly in the details. The designers are skilled at using lighting to weave functionality and emotion into one. The linear light sources hidden in the ceiling outline the rhythm of the circulation; the cool white light beads inlaid in the walls emphasize the structural contours; the warm lighting at the entrance of the private rooms simulates the afterglow of dusk, awakening a sense of "returning home".

Amid the changes in light and color, the space is endowed with a sense of breath, as if it were the floating warmth of daily life in old alleys. Lighting is no longer just a tool for illumination, but a symbolic language that evokes memories.

05 The Boundary Between Private Enjoyment and Public Space

Each private room is a micro architectural unit. They are independently placed but not isolated from each other. Visually, they are staggered; in terms of circulation, they are secretly connected—like the closely adjacent eaves in an urban village, or a quiet haven hidden in a busy city.

The material contrast extends to the indoor details: the walls are wrapped in a mixture of solid wood and textured paint to emphasize warmth; the glass windows introduce partial transparency to break the sense of enclosure; the undulating floor levels enrich the walking rhythm, ensuring changes at every corner.

Even in the center of a bustling commercial district, one can find a spiritual refuge in this "micro-settlement".

06 A Gentle Poem in Life

"We are not just designing a space, but reconstructing a familiar way of life."

Fa is not only the name of a flagship board game & card room, but also a response to a spatial proposition: it responds to our nostalgia for a sense of community, our yearning for relaxation, and our renewed call for the warmth of daily life.

Design here is not about being unconventional, but about embracing every fragment of life like water—liveliness, tranquility, functionality, emotion, memories, and light.

This is a gentle interpretation of Wenzhou's urban texture, and also a deeply touching exploration by Qiang Design in spatial narrative.