Work

Community and Architecture: A Comprehensive Exploration of Community Development

Over the past three years, the Fund has supported a collaborative project team in the village of Zhoushan in Daye Town, Dengfeng City, Henan Province. Starting with the restoration of traditional cave dwellings, the team has adopted sustainable construction methods that involve recycling materials and repurposing vintage items, alongside a community-driven approach focused on people's needs. This effort has led to the creation of new service facilities and public spaces, gradually transforming "House of Dreams" into a "Zhoushan Village Rural Development Research Base."

Location:Zhoushan Village, Daye Town, Dengfeng City, Henan

Partner(s):

Project Highlights

Over the past three years, the Fund has supported a collaborative project team in the village of Zhoushan in Daye Town, Dengfeng City, Henan Province. Starting with the restoration of traditional cave dwellings, the team has adopted sustainable construction methods that involve recycling materials and repurposing vintage items, alongside a community-driven approach focused on people's needs. This effort has led to the creation of new service facilities and public spaces, gradually transforming "House of Dreams" into a "Zhoushan Village Rural Development Research Base."

Drawing on Liang Jun team's more than 20 years of community development experience alongside local villagers, the "Zhoushan Village Rural Development Research Base" is poised to delve deeper into themes of community, architecture, and the villagers' way of life. It aims to evolve into a vibrant learning hub, facilitating interaction and knowledge exchange between students and scholars from various disciplines such as sociology, architecture, and anthropology, and the Zhoushan community.

The Fund has continued its support for Liang Jun's team and the students from the University of Hong Kong. Through the lens of architecture and community development, they aim to further explore sustainable development models for rural communities. This involves refining construction bases, enhancing living facilities and public spaces to improve the overall quality of community life, restoring local cultural traditions through human-centric environments, and encouraging villagers to share their experiences and stories of community development through various means such as exhibitions, books, films, and the cultivation of a village lecturer team.

Progress

In 2024, this project brought together a team of faculty and students from the University of Hong Kong to investigate sustainable development models in Zhoushan Village, Dengfeng City, focusing on both architectural and community aspects. The team participated in various activities, including collecting local soil samples and renovating ecological toilets for the villagers. Through numerous experiments and research efforts, they collaborated closely with residents to discover the local resources and stories that define Zhoushan Village.

Project and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Projects

UN Sustainable
Development Goals

SDG Targets

Overarching Efforts

Community and Architecture: A Comprehensive Exploration of Community Development

Quality Education

4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development

Plan to showcase the achievements of Zhoushan Village by an exhibition , enhance the development of village speaker teams, publish books to document project experiences, and facilitate mutual learning and exchange between local artisans and university students for collaborative construction efforts.

Gender Equality
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decisionmaking in political, economic and public life

Empower women in the village through initiatives like establishing support groups, encouraging their involvement in public affairs.

Reduced Inequalities
Reduce inequality within and among countries

10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status

Generate employment opportunities to support villagers, with a particular focus on assisting women and the elderly in boosting their income.

Sustainable Cities and Communities
Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

Use Zhoushan Village as a demonstration to showcase participatory construction methods and restore the village's cultural environment.

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