New project in China: houses with a view of the Great Wall

A noteworthy architectural project is just getting underway in a Chinese valley within easy commuting distance of Beijing: builders Soho China have commissioned various Asian architects to build a number of homes on the hills overlooking the Great Wall.

The dimensions of the project, known as "Commune by the Great Wall", are huge: it displays a desire to come up with a form of home capable of meeting the demands of civil living without harming the environment. Architects involved in the project include Yung Ho Chang and Antonio Ochoa, a Venezuelan who has been living in China for a decade or so.
Ochoa's building represents the perfect integration of modern architecture into the natural environment; the main materials he uses are wood and cement, so that the construction blends into the rocky landscape. The Venezuelan architect wants to give the approaching viewer the sensation that the home is not new, but has been a part of the hill for years and years. He is strongly influenced by Oriental tradition, which is why he feels the need to create a construction closely linked to the local environment and culture.
About 24 million dollars will be spent on the homes by the Great Wall; an expensive project, considering it is not government-financed but is a private initiative. But it represents a big step ahead for China, which has never given much thought to architecture; the "Commune by the Great Wall" will offer a model for later builders, as the first project in which high architectural standards have come so close to market standards.