In Progress - Working with Local Resources

This lecture by founding principal of DnA Design and Architecture, Xu Tiantian, will provide an overview of DnA's minimal intervention approach - the architectural acupuncture. For over a decade, their studio has closely collaborated with various villages and rural regions across China, developing models for rural revitalisation. These models introduce multi-functional public programs tailored to the unique cultural heritage and context of each village, aiming to reintegrate nature, restore rural identity, and stimulate local economic development, thereby enabling self-regeneration.

DnA Design and Architecture's extensive work on projects in Songyang County exemplifies a systematic regional strategy that can be applied to other rural areas. By deeply understanding local history, traditions, and cultural practices, they ensure that even small-scale, targeted interventions resonate with local identity and pride, significantly impacting community revitalization. They address the unique historical and cultural narratives of the context with a respect and curiosity typical to sociologists and anthropologists. DnA’s approach to architecture is not just as building design but as the integration of agriculture, infrastructure, production, and housing into a cohesive socio-economic and cultural framework.

In this lecture, Xu Tiantian will explore several ongoing projects in depth. These include the Huangyan Quarry, which revitalizes industrial heritage; the Fujian Tulou, a model for the adaptive reuse of vernacular architectural typology; the Ziyang Culture and Sports Center, a public building responding to specific community needs within a complex urban context; and the Meizhou Island project, which integrates the local fishermen’s way of life with marine ecology and the natural cycle.

Xu Tiantian is the founding principal of ">span> and Professor in Practice at Tsinghua University School of Architecture. She received her Baccalaureate in Architecture from Tsinghua University in China, and her Master of Architecture in Urban Design (MAUD) from Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 2020 she was appointed an Honorary Fellow of American Institute of Architects. Xu Tiantian has engaged extensively in the rural revitalizing process in rural China. Her groundbreaking “Architectural Acupuncture” is a holistic approach to the social and economic revitalization of rural China and has been selected by UN Habitat as the case study of Inspiring Practice on Urban-Rural Linkages. She received numerous awards including the 2022 Swiss Architectural Award, the 2023 Berlin Art Prize / Kunstpreis Berlin (Architecture category), 2023 Marcus Prize and 2023 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture by UNESCO and Cite de l'Architecture & du Patrimoine.