For the past two years, the 'townhouse' concept has been a buzzword in mainland China. The intellectuals, the artists, and even the real estate developers are anxiously looking for their second home in the suburbs where the farmers' houses are built. The townhouse symbolizes a transition from city to country, a pursuit of spiritual purification, and a return to nature. It has also become a symbol of wealth, status and style.
Two years ago, an audacious real estate developer decided to define a new architectural language for the townhouse concept: to present real estate projects as a museum of architecture. At the foot of the Badaling section of the Great Wall, near Beijing, the Commune By The Great Wall is under construction. The project demonstrates great creativity and serves as an architectural experiment. The Commune By The Great Wall comprises projects designed by twelve emerging young Asian architects, who combine personal architecture with history and culture. The Eighth La Biennale di Venezia has invited these architects to attend the exhibition for the first time. This signifies acknowledgement from the industry.
Renowned Hong Kong architect Rocco Yim, in charge of the project's overall planning, says, "Selling a real estate project as a form of art is unprecedented worldwide. Once proved successful, it could be very influential, determining which direction the Chinese real estate industry will go."
When architecture interacts with history, cultural elements and commercial planning, a new kind of rich-person's paradise just might follow.
It takes a little over an hour to drive from downtown Beijing to the Commune by the Great Wall, which is 70 kilometers away--a place where one can leave the skyscrapers in the city behind. Mountain chains are an arm's length away. Ten more minutes after entering the Badaling Pass, we arrived in an emerald green valley. Twelve buildings (eleven villas and one club building) lie spread out across different hills. As for the Great Wall itself, it could just be made out in the distant mountains.
Beijing Real Estate--Hot Property
The twelve sample villas will be used as boutique hotels and a club building. For the second phase of the project, designs that best suit the market will be selected and sold exclusively like limited-edition items.
Last weekend, an auto show was held at the Commune by the Great Wall. The event attracted many a potential buyer. Right there and then, a mainland clothing store proprietor showed great interest in the Bamboo Wall designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. He also planned to continue discussion on possible purchase the next day.
"Half of our clientele come from overseas, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, and the other half are domestic," responded Pan Shiyi, the developer and president of Redstone Industrie Co. Ltd. There is a great demand for real estate in Beijing these days: by way of example, 5000 residential units were sold at the Beijing Spring Housing Exhibition in early April. This phenomenon is attributed to the rising demand for estate leasing upon China's admission to the WTO. Given the current twelve to fifteen percent return of investment, it is not surprising that high-end residential housing projects in Beijing continue to attract investors. Undoubtedly there is a market.
However, these villas are exclusively for the wealthy, leaving almost no room for ordinary people to visit this museum of architecture. Pan explains that "our targeted audience are the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking people. These projects are indeed not designed with the majority of people in mind. Their value lies in their ability to influence people's thinking. It is open to public debate, and serves to open up the public to different possible living styles. Who will buy and live in these villas is not important. What is crucial is the possibility and creativity embodied in these designs."
"A house can last a hundred years. Architectural concepts, structures, constructions, furniture, decoration, and the lifestyles of those living under its roof are all aspects of a house's life. The one-hundred-year span sets a stage for the house to star in its own show." It is exactly this ideal of leaving Beijing a legacy of buildings with real vitality that motivated Zhang Xin, Pan's wife, to organize this event showcasing Asian architects' projects. Furthermore, she has worked with professor Zhang Yonghe from the Architectural Research Center at Peking University. Together with Antonio, a Venezuelan architect, they searched for young and creative Asian architects to get involved in this project. All the architects accepted their invitation. Pan added, "We have one-hundred percent participation from those whom we have invited." He smiles with confidence; he clearly has a great deal of faith in this large-scale investment.
A Design Without a Market
Though paramount emphasis is on creativity and uniqueness, consideration for market demand almost canceled Hong Kong architect Gary Chang's creation.
Zhang Xin smiled when she began to talk about the youngest architect (40 years old) of the group. About two years ago, Gary Zhang brought a box with him, and told Zhang Xin and three other people the tale of a box - it is unknown who ends up using the house. Without residents, Chang considered the villa's usability, which led to a multi-function house concept. He foresees up to nine possible ways of living in this house. The bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and study are all hidden under the floor. Access to these places is possible only when people need them, otherwise it is concealed. The spaciousness of the villa is thus greatly enhanced.
"Frankly, I didn't quite get him when he first talked about the concept. I also tried explaining to him that the concept was not practical, and reminded him of the market demand." However, in the end, Gary managed to convince her, since what she wants is a showcase of architecture, which should tolerate a diversity of artistic elements, instead of being something solely market-oriented.
Gary Chang, an interior designer, was fully devoted to his first architectural project. He evaluated the house in person, lifted the floor, and checked the bathroom and the study, running all over the place. "The house has great flexibility. Even a couple living in this 400-square foot house can have individual spaces. In the presence of many visitors, the whole house can be turned into a living room. When people need to rest at night, rooms appear again. The house can then become a house of bedrooms without a living room." Try to imagine, it must be fun living in a 'Samurai hut' like this. But it would be tiring to constantly lift the tiles on the floor and move the furniture around. No wonder Zhang Xin expected few buyers for such a villa.
Dialog with Mountains and Woods
Architecture itself is art. However, there is concern about a series of new villas designed individually by different architects against the backdrop of the Great Wall, a construction with a profound sense of cultural heritage. With proper supervision, architecture can be enriched through interaction between new and old cultures. But if the project isn't supervised properly, Rocco Yim, the general project designer, runs the risk of creating something like Disney Land with designs completely unrelated to each other.
Free from locational, spatial, and even budgetary constraints, the twelve architects shared a desire to build a harmony with the surrounding setting without any preset agreements. On the whole, their designs favor a taste for modernity, simplicity and natural coexistence with the environment. As an example, Kengo Kuma's design is surrounded by bamboo trees. The view from the inside is shielded by bamboo--nothing else can really be seen. This structure creates a sense of transparency and connection to nature.
Rocco Yim's design is a bit like a modern courtyard. He purposely divided the house into two wings. The rooms are aligned with a square structure surrounded by four walls. As the house is set in the wild, all the rooms face inward with walls on the four sides to create a stronger sense a security, similar to the traditional inner courtyard concept. The living room, dining room, and guest bedroom are designed to form rectangular shapes, located right above the rooms on the ground level. The design allows enjoyment of nature's beauty as well as interaction with the environment. The designer's handling of openness and the inward orientation of the villa demonstrates his determination to establish a dialog with nature.
The subconscious need to live in harmony with the environment has become the common theme of all the villas of the Commune by the Great Wall. Simple colors, natural stones, bamboo and rusted steel are the tools with which the architect communicates with nature.
New Concepts Lead to New Construction Materials
Antonio has been working in China for nine years, and knows the construction business in China very well. He says, "At the time when the government allocated housing to people, there was no place for the architect. There was only the national architecture design institute. Every house was thus made alike, and it's very easy to get lost among those buildings."
Obviously he has made great progress since coming to know Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin. His Cantilever House looks like a tank facing a hill. The structure is built with concrete walls, supporting the main section on the top, which is built with concrete and red bricks. This three-layered platform is created to give the residents the freedom to enjoy nature from the inside, as well as the outside, as the seasons change. The uniqueness of the structure lies in its compatibility with any slopes of the hill without the need to lay a deep foundation.
Known as the world's most-noted young architect, Shigeru Ban from Japan decided to design a bamboo house inspired by his observation of construction materials on the market during his visit for his design of Furniture House. His bamboo house is very different from Kengo Kuma's Bamboo Wall. He split the bamboo stems, made them into mattresses, and bound the mattresses into bamboo boards. After numerous experiments, he developed bamboo plywood stronger than stones.
Another example is Yung Ho Chang's The Split House, which separates walls from the structure of the villa. This structure adds a thermal insulation function to the house. All of these are the architects' innovative contributions to developing construction materials in harmony with nature.
Two years ago, an audacious real estate developer decided to define a new architectural language for the townhouse concept: to present real estate projects as a museum of architecture. At the foot of the Badaling section of the Great Wall, near Beijing, the Commune By The Great Wall is under construction. The project demonstrates great creativity and serves as an architectural experiment. The Commune By The Great Wall comprises projects designed by twelve emerging young Asian architects, who combine personal architecture with history and culture. The Eighth La Biennale di Venezia has invited these architects to attend the exhibition for the first time. This signifies acknowledgement from the industry.
Renowned Hong Kong architect Rocco Yim, in charge of the project's overall planning, says, "Selling a real estate project as a form of art is unprecedented worldwide. Once proved successful, it could be very influential, determining which direction the Chinese real estate industry will go."
When architecture interacts with history, cultural elements and commercial planning, a new kind of rich-person's paradise just might follow.
It takes a little over an hour to drive from downtown Beijing to the Commune by the Great Wall, which is 70 kilometers away--a place where one can leave the skyscrapers in the city behind. Mountain chains are an arm's length away. Ten more minutes after entering the Badaling Pass, we arrived in an emerald green valley. Twelve buildings (eleven villas and one club building) lie spread out across different hills. As for the Great Wall itself, it could just be made out in the distant mountains.
Beijing Real Estate--Hot Property
The twelve sample villas will be used as boutique hotels and a club building. For the second phase of the project, designs that best suit the market will be selected and sold exclusively like limited-edition items.
Last weekend, an auto show was held at the Commune by the Great Wall. The event attracted many a potential buyer. Right there and then, a mainland clothing store proprietor showed great interest in the Bamboo Wall designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. He also planned to continue discussion on possible purchase the next day.
"Half of our clientele come from overseas, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, and the other half are domestic," responded Pan Shiyi, the developer and president of Redstone Industrie Co. Ltd. There is a great demand for real estate in Beijing these days: by way of example, 5000 residential units were sold at the Beijing Spring Housing Exhibition in early April. This phenomenon is attributed to the rising demand for estate leasing upon China's admission to the WTO. Given the current twelve to fifteen percent return of investment, it is not surprising that high-end residential housing projects in Beijing continue to attract investors. Undoubtedly there is a market.
However, these villas are exclusively for the wealthy, leaving almost no room for ordinary people to visit this museum of architecture. Pan explains that "our targeted audience are the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking people. These projects are indeed not designed with the majority of people in mind. Their value lies in their ability to influence people's thinking. It is open to public debate, and serves to open up the public to different possible living styles. Who will buy and live in these villas is not important. What is crucial is the possibility and creativity embodied in these designs."
"A house can last a hundred years. Architectural concepts, structures, constructions, furniture, decoration, and the lifestyles of those living under its roof are all aspects of a house's life. The one-hundred-year span sets a stage for the house to star in its own show." It is exactly this ideal of leaving Beijing a legacy of buildings with real vitality that motivated Zhang Xin, Pan's wife, to organize this event showcasing Asian architects' projects. Furthermore, she has worked with professor Zhang Yonghe from the Architectural Research Center at Peking University. Together with Antonio, a Venezuelan architect, they searched for young and creative Asian architects to get involved in this project. All the architects accepted their invitation. Pan added, "We have one-hundred percent participation from those whom we have invited." He smiles with confidence; he clearly has a great deal of faith in this large-scale investment.
A Design Without a Market
Though paramount emphasis is on creativity and uniqueness, consideration for market demand almost canceled Hong Kong architect Gary Chang's creation.
Zhang Xin smiled when she began to talk about the youngest architect (40 years old) of the group. About two years ago, Gary Zhang brought a box with him, and told Zhang Xin and three other people the tale of a box - it is unknown who ends up using the house. Without residents, Chang considered the villa's usability, which led to a multi-function house concept. He foresees up to nine possible ways of living in this house. The bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and study are all hidden under the floor. Access to these places is possible only when people need them, otherwise it is concealed. The spaciousness of the villa is thus greatly enhanced.
"Frankly, I didn't quite get him when he first talked about the concept. I also tried explaining to him that the concept was not practical, and reminded him of the market demand." However, in the end, Gary managed to convince her, since what she wants is a showcase of architecture, which should tolerate a diversity of artistic elements, instead of being something solely market-oriented.
Gary Chang, an interior designer, was fully devoted to his first architectural project. He evaluated the house in person, lifted the floor, and checked the bathroom and the study, running all over the place. "The house has great flexibility. Even a couple living in this 400-square foot house can have individual spaces. In the presence of many visitors, the whole house can be turned into a living room. When people need to rest at night, rooms appear again. The house can then become a house of bedrooms without a living room." Try to imagine, it must be fun living in a 'Samurai hut' like this. But it would be tiring to constantly lift the tiles on the floor and move the furniture around. No wonder Zhang Xin expected few buyers for such a villa.
Dialog with Mountains and Woods
Architecture itself is art. However, there is concern about a series of new villas designed individually by different architects against the backdrop of the Great Wall, a construction with a profound sense of cultural heritage. With proper supervision, architecture can be enriched through interaction between new and old cultures. But if the project isn't supervised properly, Rocco Yim, the general project designer, runs the risk of creating something like Disney Land with designs completely unrelated to each other.
Free from locational, spatial, and even budgetary constraints, the twelve architects shared a desire to build a harmony with the surrounding setting without any preset agreements. On the whole, their designs favor a taste for modernity, simplicity and natural coexistence with the environment. As an example, Kengo Kuma's design is surrounded by bamboo trees. The view from the inside is shielded by bamboo--nothing else can really be seen. This structure creates a sense of transparency and connection to nature.
Rocco Yim's design is a bit like a modern courtyard. He purposely divided the house into two wings. The rooms are aligned with a square structure surrounded by four walls. As the house is set in the wild, all the rooms face inward with walls on the four sides to create a stronger sense a security, similar to the traditional inner courtyard concept. The living room, dining room, and guest bedroom are designed to form rectangular shapes, located right above the rooms on the ground level. The design allows enjoyment of nature's beauty as well as interaction with the environment. The designer's handling of openness and the inward orientation of the villa demonstrates his determination to establish a dialog with nature.
The subconscious need to live in harmony with the environment has become the common theme of all the villas of the Commune by the Great Wall. Simple colors, natural stones, bamboo and rusted steel are the tools with which the architect communicates with nature.
New Concepts Lead to New Construction Materials
Antonio has been working in China for nine years, and knows the construction business in China very well. He says, "At the time when the government allocated housing to people, there was no place for the architect. There was only the national architecture design institute. Every house was thus made alike, and it's very easy to get lost among those buildings."
Obviously he has made great progress since coming to know Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin. His Cantilever House looks like a tank facing a hill. The structure is built with concrete walls, supporting the main section on the top, which is built with concrete and red bricks. This three-layered platform is created to give the residents the freedom to enjoy nature from the inside, as well as the outside, as the seasons change. The uniqueness of the structure lies in its compatibility with any slopes of the hill without the need to lay a deep foundation.
Known as the world's most-noted young architect, Shigeru Ban from Japan decided to design a bamboo house inspired by his observation of construction materials on the market during his visit for his design of Furniture House. His bamboo house is very different from Kengo Kuma's Bamboo Wall. He split the bamboo stems, made them into mattresses, and bound the mattresses into bamboo boards. After numerous experiments, he developed bamboo plywood stronger than stones.
Another example is Yung Ho Chang's The Split House, which separates walls from the structure of the villa. This structure adds a thermal insulation function to the house. All of these are the architects' innovative contributions to developing construction materials in harmony with nature.
