A Rehearsal of Rural Construction

The purpose of Village Opera is to use the series of architectural practices in Beigou Village as a sample to demonstrate the complex relationship and interaction of characters behind rural construction. By curating an exhibition with multiple tones and melodies, interactions among groups (of different background, interests, responsibilities and rights) are transformed into different scenes of display. Characters come up stage, and the perspectives of the exhibits are constantly changing, inviting villagers and visitors for a role-play.

Innovation:
Prologue connects with the central plaza of the village and is the opening living room of the exhibition. Workers, architects, villagers, developers, tourists... Are there insurmountable boundaries between different roles? People observe and imitate each other in Beigou, and finally gather under the eaves of WAAAM.

Creativity:
Soliloquy (Act III) is a sound space tucked in a small pocket under the glazed tile wall, where the light and shadow are full of dramatic tension. The exhibition of San Sa Village-Architects' Inner Monologues invites visitors to walk through the narrow corridor of deep self-reflections and debates within.

Functionality:
Ensemble, the first Act, is located on the ground floor, within the foundation of the original farmer's house, upon which WAAAM stands. Rough rubble bases are scattered and the exhibition scene emphasizes this sense of the archaeological presence. The content features San Sa Village–Construction Phase, Beigala Nostalgic Station and the Farmers' House Collective. Old houses, new buildings, old villagers, and construction teams are constantly provoking each other's territory in the process of development of the village. The construction team seems to have become an archaeological team, when the discussions about history and memory emerge.

Act II, Negotiation is located on the second floor of the original site. The space is left sharp and sober, on contrary to the multi-media hodgepodge of Ensemble, to display WAAAM as a rural development and an architectural project. The alternation of different roles in the construction process of WAAAM expresses the definition and intervention of different standpoints on building a museum in a village and on the building itself.

Winding up the tower, a new landmark of the village, Duet (Act IV) starts from the staircase gallery and ends with the "grand view" out the terrace. It's cast features the New Brickyard Retreat – Designer vs. Sightseer; both its content and the way of display expand on the topic of Perspective in designing Scenes in the countryside.

Located on the big steps is the final Epilogue. When all the characters and visitors gather here, it's like being in an open-air cinema at the entrance of the village. The moments of Beigou Village change and change on the screen with its people themselves suddenly have their momentary sense of heroism.