Community Hall Of Dahei New Village / One University One Village

Architects: One University One Village
Area: 345 m²
Year: 2021
Photographs: Ce Wang
Lead Architect: Edward Ng
Design Team: Edward Ng, Li Wan, Lai Zhou, Jieming Yan, Xinan Chi
Engineering: Wenfeng Bai
Client: Xiyang Township Government
Funding Support: Chan Cheung Mun Chung Charitable Fund Ltd.
Collaborator: Kunming University of Science and Technology
City: Kunming
Country: China

The Community Hall of Dahei New Village, designed by One University One Village (1U1V) in Xiyang Township, Yunnan Province, China, replaces an old, unsafe structure with a new, multifunctional space suited to local needs. The hall incorporates outdoor spaces, a central hall, and a kitchen, with a design based on the community’s traditional lifestyle. Rammed earth from the site, mixed with sand and gravel for seismic resistance, forms the walls, avoiding the use of chemical stabilizers. Steel columns, a concrete foundation, and ring beams ensure seismic safety, validated by the Kunming University Earthquake Institute. A bamboo-steel roof structure, along with passive design elements such as natural ventilation and thermal mass walls, reduces the building’s environmental impact. Built using local materials and labor, including the 1U1V women’s construction team, the project supports sustainable development in the rural area.

Community Hall of Dahei New Village / One University One Village

Dahei New Village, located in Xiyang Township, Jinning County, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China, is home to a predominantly Yi minority population. The village’s traditional buildings, primarily made from earth, have recently fallen into disrepair. In response, the One University One Village (1U1V) team has undertaken a series of rammed earth renovation projects, developing innovative construction techniques tailored to local needs. The village’s Gongfang, a multi-purpose hall used for events such as weddings, funerals, and festivals, had become unsafe due to its age. To address this, 1U1V reached an agreement with the township government to rebuild the hall using anti-seismic rammed earth technology, ensuring a safer, more functional, and aesthetically pleasing space for the community.

The newly designed community hall is located on the site of the former one and consists of an outdoor space, a hall, and a kitchen. The layout and circulation of the building are based on the villagers’ lifestyle and reflect the design of the original community hall. The walls are made from rammed earth excavated on-site, with sand and gravel added to improve seismic performance based on soil particle analysis. No chemical additives like cement or stabilizers were used, allowing the wall materials to be easily recycled or returned to nature.

Due to the low viscosity of the local raw earth, H-steel columns were incorporated to support the load-bearing structure. The framework combines steel columns, a concrete foundation, and ground and top ring beams to enhance the building’s seismic safety. This innovative construction method has been rigorously tested and validated through numerous experiments and projects by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute of Kunming University of Science and Technology and the Terra Centre of 1U1V.

To fulfill the project’s requirements for span, daylighting, durability, and aesthetics, the roof truss incorporates a bamboo-steel structure. The use of raw earth and bamboo, both of which have lower embodied energy and carbon emissions, combined with passive design strategies like natural daylighting, ventilation, and thermal mass walls, ensures that the building has a minimal environmental impact throughout its entire life cycle.

The building was constructed collaboratively by the 1U1V women’s construction team and local villagers. Following a “high-science, low-technology” approach and adhering to the principles of “local materials, local technology, and local labor,” the project plays a key role in promoting environmental, economic, and social sustainability within the rural area.