The Songyang story

Eduard Kögel, Saskia Sassen, Remy Sietchiping, Martino Stierli, Jun Wang, Tiantian Xu

Architecture can revitalize, spark rural self-confidence, and turn wasteland into a welcoming space--and it can do it at a low cost. This is the mission statement of architect Xu Tiantian, founder and principal of Beijing-based studio Design and Architecture (DnA). In 2014, Xu began to work in the remote Songyang County in China's Zhejiang Province. Her holistic concept does not engage in erasing existing structures but is instead guided by the concept of Architectural Acupuncture, which prefers smaller interventions to extensive redevelopments, and which has gained much recognition as a model for similar regions around the world. For Xu, architecture as a language should address the traditions of Songyang County--each solution is unique; only the small budget is common to all of them. Yet all of them are interrelated and serve the broader goal of mutual enhancement. The Songyang...