SOUL OF STONE – Quarry discovery and Lake-side tourism center in Yen Bai

Yen Bai Province, often referred to as “Gemstone Land”, is a prominent natural precious gem mine and mineral trade hub of Vietnam. The province is also renowned for its unique gemstone handcrafted and painting village, as well as the home of various ethnic minority groups with in-depth cultural history. The project site is located in a natural stone quarry in the Mong Son Mountain area, surrounded by Thac Ba Lake, one of the historical and scenic landmarks with breathtaking landscapes to the Southwest and the East.
However, over the past three decades, the mineral and gemstone extraction reserve has gradually depleted due to over economic exploitation. The extensive mining has led to environmental degradation, soil erosion, water pollution, and bad impacts on the ecological landscape. Therefore, it’s highly essential to implement a sustainable rehabilitation of post-mining areas and promote local tourism in the area.
Key Tensions:
LOSS OF RELEVANCE OF SITE AND CONTEXT: The project is surrounded by Thac Ba Lake, adorned with a picturesque landscape and a diverse ecological system
LOSS OF CONNECTION TO THE ECOLOGY: The severely-exploited area becomes depleted, creating bad impacts on the local ecosystem
LOSS OF LAND VALUE: After exploitation, the site remediation, ecosystem restoration and land use conversion have not been adequately addressed
Strategy Solutions:
ECONOMIC VALUE: Generating more economic values for the province through area tourism development and local craft village fortification
ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION: Restoring the degraded environment into a refreshing ecological environment with safe and pleasant public spaces
ETHNIC CULTURE: Inheriting the indigenous architectural experiences in ethnic housing to integrate in the project

ECONOMIC VALUE:
The project is situated in a specific geological area with abundant precious gemstones such as ruby, spinel, sapphire, tourmaline, amazonite, pargasite and humite crystals occurring in marble. This indicates a significant potential for the geological research in the region. By altering the existing topography into a geological conservation area combined with exhibition spaces, a new exhibition and discovery complex will be created within the heart of the stone quarry.
Architectural and spatial solutions are designed to harmonize with the existing topography to enhance the natural advantages, thus creating spaces that mirror the essence of the stone quarry, ensuring that the construction blends seamlessly with the natural landscape without imposing itself forcefully upon it. The incorporation of innovative spatial and architectural mechanisms and “space within space” concept engender curiosity, allowing the visitors to sense the grandeur of nature through the very elements that participate in the exhibition activities, thus ensuring a genuine and vibrant emotional experience.

In the post-exploitation area, there remain smaller pieces of stone and gem fragments which can be utilized to craft exquisite gemstone artworks by the skillful local handcrafters. The primary routes of the exhibition and discovery complex will outline the visitors with the process story of producing local stone products, at the same time will be combined with research areas, workspace, event and workshop areas to enhance the interaction for the project, cater to the diverse needs of different audiences and deliver sustainable value-enhancing solutions.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION
The eroded soil area will be addressed by an ecological system regeneration, designed to accelerate the natural recovery process. Leveraging the slope of the terrain from the North-West to the South-East, the design incorporates additional biological swales with indigenous plantation systems to collect and filter rainwater, thus purifying the water flowing towards Thac Ba Lake while enhancing the geological stability to ensure the safety of the area.
Interspersed with these ecological spaces is a network of pedestrian pathways designed responding to the topography, allowing the visitors to experience and immerse themselves in the beauty of nature. Meanwhile, the lodging areas and shading spots shall create short-day trip resting points. The restoration of the natural landscape combined with public space functions will strengthen the connectivity with the tourism route along Thac Ba Lake, benefiting both the natural environment and the public welfare.

ETHNIC CULTURE
The project is situated in the North-West mountainous region of Vietnam, where layered ethnic villages nestle beneath the mountains, prominently featuring the stilt house architecture of the “Tay” (Tày) ethnic group. Applying the architectural adaptation of vernacular stilt house, the construction design is based on the proportions of the “Tay” stilt houses, with elevated and open-underneath pillar systems to prevent dampness and insects, while harnessing the local climate to ensure the structure remains well-ventilated, benefiting from the cool breezes from Thac Ba Lake.
Beside the pursuit of the changing strategy solutions, the project is also a journey that goes beyond the scope of architectural values to rediscover the “Soul of Stone” that has been lost, and to restore the connection between humans and nature.