The art of preservation thrives in concealment. Behind the architectural authenticity that demands retaining is a clandestine network of silent interventions fortifying its chassis to stand the test of time. With an intent to reactivate the Shennong Temple, also known as Yaowang Temple, located in the Shuitingmen Historic and Cultural Block of Quzhou, Zhejiang, Shanghai-based y.ad studio undertakes its micro-renovation. The temple, established first during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1294) by Liu Guangda, a prominent local medical master, has undergone several renovations throughout its life. The existing structure was collectively funded and built by Quzhou's local medical community in 1763 during the Qing Dynasty, with a significant reconstruction in 1872. However, despite the multiple renovations, the historic building continued to remain idle and dilapidated. The team at y.ad studio, with regulations and constraints in mind, revivifies the spatial atmosphere of the temple and the flow of function within its time-trodden walls.

Initially serving as a lecture hall during the Yuan Dynasty, the temple morphed into a medical school facilitating teaching and exchange of medical knowledge during the Ming Dynasty. Throughout the changing dynasties—Yuan, Ming and Qing—the religious architecture shifted in functions and all its renovations were funded by the pharmaceutical and medical community. From 1912-1949, the Republic of China period, merchants from Lanxi specialising in medicinal materials used the temple as the guild hall of the Pharmaceutical Industry Association, making Lanxi Guild Hall a popular name for the building. The deities' birthdays were celebrated with grand temple fairs. In 1993, the temple was listed as a protected heritage building by the city.

The Shennong Temple’s rectangular, quadrangle-style layout is spread across 500 square metres. The structure, primarily brick and wood architecture, includes a front hall and a main hall connected by a courtyard and wing rooms. In ancient Chinese legends, Shennong or Yan Emperor, tasted numerous herbs to concoct medicines and cure illnesses. A statue of Shennong sits grandly in the temple along with bronze statues of renowned physicians in Quzhou's history such as Yang Jizhou and Lei Feng.

Conceived in 2017, y.ad studio practises in spheres such as urban renewal, commercial complex transformation, cultural tourism real estate, integrated parks, hospitality design and rural construction. When the team first visited Shennong Temple’s site, they encountered its dwindling conditions: the building was decaying without any users, the layout had been reconfigured by former occupants with glass and wood panels, the walls were covered with murals, status was scattered along the rear hall and the courtyard was weighed down by weeds.

The Chinese architects identified the primary challenge of the project to be manoeuvring around the cultural relics and protecting them in accordance with the regulations. The historical architecture’s appearance, structure, internal walls or floors were not permitted to be altered; even the use of nails to fix items to the building’s frame was prohibited. Under these limitations, room for spatial alterations or structural repairs was minimal, making design interventions more complex.

Initially, the corridor connecting the front and rear halls was veiled using glass and wooden boards, limiting the access to the rear hall to the open-air atrium only. The design team reshaped the circulation of the space by removing the partitions. The open-air atrium is cleaned and redefined, preserving the original trees and water vats in the courtyard—the visual anchor of the building with a circulation loop running around it. While the central courtyard design bridges the greenery to the architectural space, the corridors on either side serve as primary passages between the halls and feature display functions.

After careful consideration of the preservation regulations, the architects resorted to a concept similar to that of exhibition curation and lighting design as the main approach. Avoiding direct contact with the original walls and columns of the Chinese architecture, the renovation process followed a “repair before insertion” philosophy. Most structural elements including the walls of the front and rear halls, the damaged wooden panes and the black-painted wooden window patterns, beams and columns are cleaned and restored.

The architects also abided by the principle of “repairing the old as old,” aiming to restore the temple architecture to its original state without trying to erase traces of ageing. Without any assistance from additional fixed walls or installations, y.ad studio reconfigures the entire space. Movable assemblies and modular interventions are introduced in the temple with a focus towards integrating the statue pedestal, display racks soft furnishings and lighting—a feasible and cost-effective renovation.

The Shennong Temple being a protected historic cultural building required utmost mindfulness in its micro-renovation. Pursuing a balance between preservation and reactivation, the architects formalise design interventions as minimal and unobtrusive as possible. Guided by a deep understanding of the site conditions, y.ad studio harnesses effective methods to optimise the ancient space’s revitalisation—delineating how such historic edifices can be strengthened sans compromising on their authentic character.