Contemporary Rural Public Service Buildings in China: Typologies and Design Strategies Under Rural Revitalization

Contemporary rural public buildings in China are undergoing a critical transition from single-function administrative facilities to multifunctional hubs that integrate public services, industrial support, cultural inheritance, and community interaction. However, existing studies predominantly rely on isolated case descriptions or region-specific practices, lacking systematic synthesis of their functional composition and design mechanisms. To address this gap, this study adopts a qualitative multiple-case analysis of 42 representative rural public service buildings completed after 2018 across China’s five major climatic zones. Through a systematic three-layer coding framework—functional configuration, spatial organization, and environmental strategy—cross-case comparisons were conducted to identify recurring compositional patterns and design strategies. The findings reveal a hierarchical “Three-Core, Six-Auxiliary” functional composition pattern, anchored by convenience, production, and cultural services as cores, supplemented by skills transmission, digital stations, shared storage, exhibition sales, mutual-aid services, and reusable facilities. A four-type design strategy system is distilled: “sharing–activation” for functional complexity, “narrative–identity” for cultural locality, “region–prototype” for climate responsiveness, and “material–craftsmanship” for ecological inheritance. This framework not only clarifies the hierarchical organization between core and auxiliary functions but also demonstrates how these strategies synergistically optimize resource allocation, sustain vernacular heritage, and support low-carbon goals. This study provides a testable and transferable design paradigm, moving rural public building practices beyond empirical intuition toward evidence-based methodological guidance.