30-foot high exhibition hall with lots of light and air to help people with ailments
Inside the 30-foot-high Prepared Rehmannia Roots Crafts Exhibition Hall, the 160 smaller gaps between and above the walls allow for the passage of additional air and natural light, both of which help prepare the rehmannia glutinosa, or shu di huang in Chinese, which is displayed here (but not shown) and used in treating such ailments as diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression.

May 22, 2024

Words: Athena Waligore

Explore This Pavilion Inspired by Ancient Sun-Drying Techniques

For the Prepared Rehmannia Roots Crafts Exhibition Hall in Henan, China, Luo Studio was inspired by the drying process of an herb fundamental to the country’s traditional medicine practices.

Luo Studio Highlights The Sun With This Pavilion

  • 50+ architects, woodworkers and contractors led by Yujie Luo
  • 15,750 square feet
  • 120 foot diameter roof
  • 7,500 red bricks
  • Six months of construction

Architect Yujie Luo, founder of Beijing firm Luo Studio, used Procreate software to sketch the concept for Prepared Rehmannia Roots Crafts Exhibition Hall in Henan, a circular pavilion with a roof aperture highlighting the sun-drying process for the herb used in traditional Chinese medicine. 

drawing of a pavilion that looks like a wheel
Image courtesy of Luo Studio.

An early 1:50 scale model is in MDF and basswood.

3-D model of the product pavilion
Image courtesy of Luo Studio.

On-site at the Ice Chrysanthemum Plantation in Houyanmen Village, a cement-mortar floor was poured. 

aerial view of the pavilion where you can see a cement floor
Photography by Chen Ke.

Dozens of spruce-plywood structural columns were erected and beams arranged in an overlapping spiral formation to distribute weight equally around an 8-foot-diameter open-air hole.

interior view of the plywood columns that upheld this pavilion
Photography by Jin Weiqi.

The 18 sides of the resulting polygon are formed of walls of locally sourced brick, the same material used for the homes in the village. 

aerial view of the pavilion
Photography by Jin Weiqi.
30-foot high exhibition hall with lots of light and air to help people with ailments
Inside the 30-foot-high Prepared Rehmannia Roots Crafts Exhibition Hall, the 160 smaller gaps between and above the walls allow for the passage of additional air and natural light, both of which help prepare the rehmannia glutinosa, or shu di huang in Chinese, which is displayed here (but not shown) and used in treating such ailments as diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression.

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