Fanshan Alunite Crystallization Ponds
FANSHAN ALUNITE CRYSTALLIZATION PONDS
Flip Studio
ARCHITECTS
Flip Studio
LEAD ARCHITECT
Kailun Sun, Zhiming Wang
CURATOR
Hanjing Yang
ENGINEERING
Anhui City Comprehensive Design Institute Co., Ltd
LDI
Anhui City Comprehensive Design Institute Co., Ltd
CONSTRUCTION
Anhui Hongsen Construction Group Co., Ltd.
CLIENTS
Anhui Fanshan Cultural Tourism Investment Co., Ltd.
DESIGN TEAM
Zixuan Chen, Zhimai Zhang
PHOTOGRAPHS
Runzi Zhu
AREA
2165 m²
YEAR
2025
LOCATION
Hefei, China
CATEGORY
Renovation, Retail
English description provided by the architects.
Fanshan Alunite Mine in Lujiang, Hefei is an industrial heritage site of profound historical significance. After market decline in the 1990s, the mine ceased operations in 2001.
The end of its prosperity left behind not only dilapidated factories and the crystallization ponds but also a deteriorating ecological environment.
The unique historical value and spatial potential of this once-powerful industrial core nearly faded into oblivion over time.
Faced with this industrial heritage, the project adopted a core strategy of "Conservation-Activation-Insertion-Regeneration." Through creative intervention, the site is no longer merely an object of contemplation.
The renovated Pit Café, now embedded with contemporary life, serves as a public vessel that combines modern living with ecological restoration, ultimately achieving the revitalization of the industrial heritage and the reshaping of the cultural-ecological landscape.
Conservation serves as the foundation. The design treated the remnants with archaeological rigor: the terraced landforms, circular pit relics, original timber frame trusses, and industrial traces were preserved to the greatest extent, forming a striking three-dimensional base for further interventions.
Activation reimagines spatial experience through narrative. By using "crystals" —the core product of the alunite mine—as a unifying medium, the design weaves an elevated black boardwalk system that connects the site while minimizing disturbance to the original landforms.
A series of exhibition displays, furniture, and lighting installations made of translucent materials (such as white translucent fiberglass, transparent acrylic tubes, and frosted colored glass) are placed throughout the site.
Visitors walking through the space feel as though they are immersed in a three-dimensional poem about light, minerals, and time.
Insertion introduces new programs to infuse contemporary vitality. The project sensitively integrated innovative programs such as reception, alunite themed exhibitions, pit relic tours, an outdoor theater, a 1950s historical artifacts exhibition, a pit café, and retail.
Flexible activity areas were also created to attract diverse crowds and infuse sustained vitality. The most iconic adaptation is the transformation of a suitably scaled circular pit into a unique "Pit Café."
Visitors descend into the pit via the boardwalk and sit under translucent circular lighting installations. With a warm cup of coffee in hand, they are surrounded by weathered pit walls, where the industrial history and the contemporary life blend marvelously.
The pit transitions from a distant relic to an immersive container of modern life, completing its transformation from "object" to "subject."
Ultimately, this series of strategies achieves ecological and cultural revitalization: the site has become a cultural landmark combining exhibition, leisure, and education.
The design intervention goes beyond cultural renewal to incorporate ecological restoration: some of the giant pits are used to recreate the crystallization process with alunite crystals, others are transformed into structurally detached café seating, and some are introduced with indoor planters, serving as "natural containers" that nurture micro-ecosystems.
Through these series of strategic renewal, the industrial site gradually transforms into an ecologically resilient base.
Through the strategies of conservation, activation, and insertion, the renovated Fanshan Crystallization Ponds site in Lujiang County has achieved a metamorphosis.
It is no longer an isolated industrial historical heritage but coexists with the restored natural ecology and integrates with contemporary cultural and tourism, together forming a rich, sustainable, and highly attractive whole.
