Peizheng Zou
About
I was born in China and came to the UK for University at the age of nineteen. I finished my RIBA PART 1 at the University of Liverpool with a first-class degree and also I have been rewarded school scholarships since BA2. Before coming to the Royal College of Art, I had worked for David Chipperfield Architects and Studio Glume，designing both architecture and interior. I developed myself for working on different projects including public gallery, refurbishment of heritage buildings, residential, and furniture design.
During my time at RCA, I devoted myself to exploring the integration between space, arts, and culture. Additionally, I also have a strong interest in the history study, my dissertation about the discussion of European Centralism in architecture was evaluated as a distinction. Drawing，making，visiting，reading, thinking, and referring is my specific approach to design.
Statement
To join the reuse platform is a great delight for me, cause I am always fascinated by the old and historical architecture. I regard them as the monuments witnessing history and also the generator approaching the future. Considering the urbanization and the needs of being sustainable, how to reuse the existing buildings is one initial task for young designers.
My attitude towards the old and new is that the new should adapt to the old, therefore I rejected to destroy any pieces of the old church for non-functional reasons and treat design process as historic preservation. For me, the fundamental condition of reusing is about remaining, which also becomes a challenge - how the new program fits into the old building. I spent almost three months on researching, testing, and multidisciplinary analyzing. I evaluate a good design as good execution of how to transfer the concept into every stage, in terms of a conceptual idea or a beautiful presentation. So, on the one hand, I made an open discussion at the start, on the other hand, I required myself to be more practical when responding to the discussion. I spent much of my time making pages of drawings from the overall layout to the detailed junction, and also I have made over sixty models in order to get a more suitable solution.
During the time of quarantine, a mass of time is occupied by reading relevant books, referring to the proper artwork, and getting inspiration from films. Moreover, in the condition of staying alone, this project also becomes a media linking me to the outside world, the one that can reflect my personalities. I try to express myself by the cultural integration between my oriental aesthetics and experience of studying abroad.
The spirit of my design is never to dream to build a new Utopian world but to make infinite potentials by reassignments.
CORNER- the being of chamber
Inspired by one description of the corner in the book of , my project begins with a study of the corner. It is highlighted that corner exits as the being of chamber. meanwhile, the space establishes emotional resonance with people. I chose the northeast corner of the church used as the vestry as my research object. To approach a deep understanding, I recorded architectural components, texture, and shadows by drawing and summarized them as five basic elements. Afterward，an experimental test of deconstruction and recombination was executed by twenty-five handmaking models. The study of the corner offers me a new perspective towards 'narrative space' and also motivated me to make more potential in further design.
Size: 11/2019 -06/2020
RECALLING - the memory of Sherrness
The isle of Sheppey is separated from the land by the River Thames and River Medway, which makes it to a corner of southern England. The special geographical conditions have created a unique natural environment - a large area of the wetland covered the island. Sheerness, famous for the Royal Navy dockyard, has a long history, and its' development has a close link with the maritime stories. In addition, Uwe Johnson，the famous german writer spent his life in this small town，which enrich the mysterious color of the town. Based on that, my project aims to respond to the local nature, recall the maritime story, and commemorate this great writer.
RETREATING - on the sea
The German writer Uwe Johnson spent the last years of his life living on the isle of Sheppey. He left a small but highly influential body of work, incorporating translations and a series of his own novels. This project uses the church to house the archive, placing it at the center of its operations, but bringing to life the collection through connecting it with a small public library, enticing the residents of the island to the church, and a residential retreat for four writers. The retreat provides a sheltered space, where contemplation, reflection and silence will nurture future literary figures.
The project reworks the existing building, utilising three main moves. The archive is placed on axis in the church, where the altar once stood, symbolising the buildings previous use as a place of worship. It acts as a ‘hinge’ metaphorically, linking the wing of the library, inserted in one aisle, and the retreat in the other. A central courtyard, filled with water, links and also separates all three elements. The water is representative of the island status of the site and its connection to life. The public enter the space through an incised corner, one that reflects the scale of the adjacent Georgian terracing, and utilizes the domestic symbolism in order to remind visitors of the neighboring terrace, but also the home Johnson lived in on the island; 26 Marine Parade. This entrance provides a public route through space, past the library and alongside the water and archive, out to the new rewilded landscape alongside the sea-side of the church.
In this landscape, the public and the writers may chance upon each other: both exploring the words and writing of Johnson, and future interpreters of language.