Neri&Hu Design and Research Office Urban Village, or Chengzhongcun, is a phenomenon where the remnants of pre-industrial settlements are nestled amidst a seemingly modern metropolis. Nantou City is a representative case of such an Urban Village.
Inspired by the vibrant milieu of the alleyways in Nantou City, the Incision (Nantou City Guesthouse) seeks to reflect on the cultural heritage of the mundane. The existing structure was cut into as a massing strategy to create an “urban incision,” introducing a new public realm into the interior of a former apartment block.
The project sought to unearth the possibilities of certain kinds of past that could invigorate our contemporary culture. To this end, a light, screen-like cladding was juxtaposed with a heavier, expressive “capping” element.
To engage with the organic circulation quintessential to Nantou’s urban fabric, the guesthouse’s access and public realm were woven back into the network of intricate alleyways. An existing stairwell was cut open and expanded to create a new vertical courtyard, within which a suspended metal stair connects the guest rooms to the rooftop garden.
To cut does not simply connote destruction, but also creation ― of spaces and meanings. By absorbing the urbanity into the building, the guesthouse renders private histories visible and becomes ingrained in the city’s flow. In this transformation, the self-healing incision opens a new portal into both past and present.

Neri&Hu Design and Research Office