The Suzhou-based architecture studio converted abandoned buildings in Dun’ao Village into a cloud-like café, cinema and reading room, bringing new cultural life to rural China
Photography by Cloe Yun Wang featuring Cloud Café
In Dun’ao Village, Ningbo, abandoned utility buildings have been given a new lease of life by the Suzhou-based studio Practice on Earth. Using customised steel containers and experimental inflatables, the practice has reimagined the rural farmland site with functional and playful spaces, including a cloud-like café, a tilted cinema and a reading room.
The project focuses on reactivating underused farmland structures while preserving the surrounding agricultural landscape. Rather than relying on conventional building methods, Practice on Earth adopted a tactile, experiential approach, creating spaces that engage visitors through movement and touch.
Among the new structures is the inflatable-topped Cloud Café at the farm entrance. This innovative coffee station combines a steel container with a large cantilevered inflatable, providing a sheltered outdoor space for visitors. The design offers panoramic views of the surrounding rice fields and hills, making it an ideal spot for a coffee break while enjoying Ningbo’s countryside.
Photography by Cloe Yun Wang featuring the cinema
The project also features a “Leaning” Cinema, built on an old billboard site. Practice on Earth tilted a steel container at a 15-degree angle, using inflatable rings to conceal structural and mechanical systems. The resulting stepped interior offers a cosy, climate-controlled cinema experience, juxtaposing rigid materials with softer forms to create a distinctive architectural design.
The final intervention is a Secret Reading Room, constructed from seven spherical inflatables suspended within a steel frame, forming a semi-outdoor reading space above the rice fields. Visitors can interact with the soft, bouncy spheres, creating a playful and memorable experience for all ages. The design contrasts metallic container materials with smooth inflatables, making the structure a striking feature within the farmland.
By using inflatables as permanent architectural elements, Practice on Earth took a remarkable approach, pushing boundaries of what is possible in remote locations. Multiple rounds of prototyping and collaboration with manufacturers ensured stability, durability and integration with the steel containers. The team also developed site-specific inflation systems, from continuously inflated PVC mesh for the café to sealed spherical PVC for the cinema and reading room.
Photography by Cloe Yun Wang featuring the secret reading room
Demonstrating how bold, playful design can revitalise rural environments, Practice on Earth has designed a new cultural destination in Dun’ao Village, enhancing community engagement while respecting the surrounding agricultural landscape.
Through the studio’s innovative combination of container architecture and inflatables, the architects present a fresh approach to rural renovation and the reuse of abandoned buildings, highlighting what can be achieved with imagination and boundless creativity.
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Photography by Cloe Yun Wang
Photography by Cloe Yun Wang
Photography by Cloe Yun Wang
