Located in China in Southern Guizhou Province, Shui Cultural Center is a gateway to Sandu County, the land of the Shui ethnic minority. West-line studio’s goal with this building was to turn the Shui’s ritual elements and atmosphere into a public space. A thin bronze skin creates a contrast with the heavy concrete structure, breaking the sunlight to create a dramatic effect once inside. After visitors pass the open water square the Cultural Center presents a succession of three spaces, strongly characterized by pitched roofs, which evoke the Shui’s mountain pictogram.

West-line Studio is an architectural practice based in Guiyang, Guizhou province, in South-West China, and exclusively works in this region. The practice was founded more than 10 years ago and has always been researching and working on contemporary vernacular architecture around the Karst geomorphologic area and local subcultures' diversity.