Brick of Words

Brick of Words

* Discourse of Space

Built in 1953, Baiwanzhuang is one of the earliest socialist neighborhoods in the New China. Over the past seventy years, residents have spontaneously reshaped their living environment—including inscribing texts in shared spaces. These writings reflect the lived realities and yearnings of everyday life, weaving a tapestry of grassroots murmurs. The designers of this book are also its authors and editors, having spent over a decade collecting nearly 300 handwritten samples. Through careful curation, refinement, and creative reinterpretation, we transformed these fragments into Brick of Words.

* Refining Words into Bricks

Diverse in theme, medium, and style, the texts are distilled into a single red brick—embodying a tension between lightness and weight, while giving lasting form to these grassroots murmurs. The red brick, as the most fundamental unit of Baiwanzhuang, mirrors Brick of Words: both can be stacked and assembled, constructing a sheltering world for humanity.

* Design Translation

The book comprises three sections—Baiwanzhuang's Space-Text Lexicon, Text Archive, and Research Essays—each offering a distinct interpretation of the textscape. These are bound using archival cards, thread stitching, and accordion folds, respectively. Three types of paper were carefully selected to enrich the content, texture, and reading experience. This layered interior stands in contrast to the minimalist, unified slipcase, establishing a dialogue between complexity and cohesion.