Studio We Live transforms 1950s Chinese cinema into teahouse with wooden canopy

Chinese firm Studio We Live has transformed an abandoned cinema into a vibrant teahouse and food market in Chongqing, China, preserving the nostalgic atmosphere of the old workers' picturehouse.

Located in Wucun, Dashiba, the building was originally the staff cinema of Jiangling Machinery Factory, built in 1957, before it was abandoned and turned into a parking lot in 2011.

The Chongqing-based studio approached the renovation by keeping most of the dilapidated walls, the original roof trusses, and the old cinema seats.

It then added stairs and platforms to create different elevations in the space, which is now a teahouse and food market.

"Urban regeneration is not about cleaning up the old and applying a new coat of paint. It is about allowing people from different generations to find their own place under the same roof," said Studio We Live.

"We believe the marks of time are more valuable than any 'flash of inspiration' a designer might have in a few weeks," it added.

At the entrance, the studio added a canopy made of recycled timber from the site. It also extended the building's stone steps from the otherwise well-kept facade, which is decorated with white tiles and green glass.

Inside, the lobby area is defined by an exposed ceiling of old timber and concrete beams, with red curtains close to the ceiling and rough brick walls below.

Old wooden cabinets and yellowed documents, dusty film reels and plant pots made from old projector lens covers were collected from the old cinema and its neighbouring community. These are now on display in an area called Jiangling Memory in the lobby.

Customers can order tea from the counter on the left side of the lobby, which was assembled from the materials that were once part of the cinema.

These include old timber, an old cabinet and undulating metal plates topped with water-based sand to resemble old asbestos-cement boards.

Behind the counter, there is a black chalkboard designed to recall old-style bulletin boards. This was developed together with the cinema's former manager, who was once in charge of drawing the board.

Beyond the lobby, the space opens up to the main hall, where public seating in the centre faces a screen framed by a dark red curtain, with various food vendors lining the perimeter of the space.

Each food vendor stall was built using wood shingles, bamboo fences and poles.

Three stepped rows from the original cinema seats were merged into one wooden terrace, resulting in a stepped seating area that allows a view of the main screen at every level.

One section of the original cinema seats was retained. Here, the floor was painted red to evoke the sense of a red carpet.

The roof structure and the faded propaganda slogans on the wall have been preserved, while original columns made from artillery barrels support the first-floor mezzanine. Beneath this sits a food counter that is lit by a newly added array of pendant lights.

New steel staircases and platforms were added on both sides of the hall, connecting the ground-floor seating to the upper mezzanine that resembles box seats in the theatre.

The brown steel structures were embedded with old timber to create a contemporary feeling, while also blending into the existing structure.

The projection room on the second floor features a vaulted green ceiling, where curated exhibitions will be held in the future.

The studio believes the project is only fully completed when the public takes part in co-creating the space.

"We consciously leave some undefined areas for users to adjust," Studio We Live said.

"It lets half of the time stand still — the red brick walls, old slogans, and vintage objects keep the best years for us. The other half continues to grow — new tea drinkers, new performances, new conversations happen every day," it continued.

Studio We Live was founded by Weitao Li and Bo Li in 2017. It has completed a series of urban regeneration projects around its home base in Chongqing.

Elsewhere in China, FOG Architecture designed a clothing store that draws on traditional Quanzhou houses, while Foster + Partners created an art gallery in Shanghai featuring a ribbed glass facade.

The photography is by Arch-Exist.

Project credits:

Investment and operation unit: Chongqing Non-standard Cultural Creativity Co., Ltd.
Design area: 1,800 square metres
Principal designers: Li Weitao, Li Bo
Design team: Deng Lin, Zhang Zhirui, Zhang Zhaoxin
Site construction supervisor: Hu Xiudong
Interior construction drawings: Beijing Shunxin Construction
Interior construction drawings: Chongqing Suoyin Jihe Decoration Engineering Design Co., Ltd.
Structural construction drawings: Chonggou Yinli Engineering Consultants
VI design: DDS Brand Design Co, Ltd

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