“A subtle balance between ‘the old’ and ‘the new’” – Holcim Awards Jury

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    Project Entry 2014 Asia Pacific - Panda-Watching: Historic village reconstruction, Xueshan, China

    The proposal is a post-earthquake reconstruction plan for Xueshan village, a historic village known as the hometown of the panda. The severe disaster resulted in great damage to the village where people endure a poor living environment. However, compared to Baoxing county located on the opposite side of the river, Xueshan village retains a primitive simplicity. All the historical heritage is connected by a route through the village.

Is history a construct? What measures must be taken when dealing with historic preservation? To what degree can contemporary architecture refer to the past? These are some of the questions wisely posed by the project, both conceptually as well as through design. The proposal aims at a subtle balance between “the old” and “the new”, at times adhering to pure historic reconstruction based on the study of archival material, while at other moments taking greater liberties when interpreting vernacular form. The jury praises the clarity and beauty of the submitted drawings which intelligently refer to the tradition of classical Chinese painting, while acknowledging the present.

Last updated: July 18, 2014 Beijing, China

Is history a construct? What measures must be taken when dealing with historic preservation? To what degree can contemporary architecture refer to the past? These are some of the questions wisely posed by the project, both conceptually as well as through design. The proposal aims at a subtle balance between “the old” and “the new”, at times adhering to pure historic reconstruction based on the study of archival material, while at other moments taking greater liberties when interpreting vernacular form. The jury praises the clarity and beauty of the submitted drawings which intelligently refer to the tradition of classical Chinese painting, while acknowledging the present.