Zhangjiakou, Hebei, China
40.7675° N, 114.8863° E
820 sqm
2019 - present
“Hollow Village ”
is a common phenomenon in rural areas of China. The indigenous people of the entire village have moved to the new rural residential areas. Their homesteads are still there, the old houses are ruined, and noone is truly revitalising the countryside.
In addition to paper-cutting, flower blossoming firework and other intangible cultural heritage, Zhangjiakou Yuxian has more than 100 hollow villages. The FA Designers’ Community selected Xi Yaotou Village as the first shot for the renovation of the hollow villages, which includes 16 homesteads .
Following the renovation, it will become a communal farm with more than 40 rooms, providing farmers with the benefits of the homesteads. The employment of some poverty-stricken households will hopefully revitalise the intangible cultural heritaga of Yu County.
While aiming to realise a public yet private community through juxtaposing the ancient fashion of living with the modern idea of connectivity, alongside the agrestal locality of Yu County.
Via exploring the organic way of living, we are aiming to establish the potential cohesive bondage between that and the modern ways of living.
He, who punctuates the constructural erections, populates and sets the tones and restraints for the imminent idyll. The derivation of him, the plot (4x6m), is coming from the formerly-peopled dwellings and will be cradling the freshly grown rurality.
With the re-interpreted dwellings paving the blanket , chants come into play. Grotto-shaped overpass along with the velvety ripples, swimming through the inherited landscape. They have been choreographing the nature and the man-made, while all of this is seeking to mirage an aperspectival mural.
The formalistic outcome of the dwellings being a rationalised cavern with scents of collective randomness. Slanting towards one side, minimally scupted 10° cut along with the fenestration which varies in both sizes and pivotal directions. Utilising the advantage from our perspectival vision and the angular placement of the units, they feel as kinfolk as they are cloned.