Chinese village
description

During the visitation of a Chinese village on October 27th 2011, the architect and De Tao Master Professor, François Valentiny was faced with the request, to knock-down some old buildings remaining abandoned in the village square, to construct new buildings at their place. He convinced the village elder that a conservation and restoration of these antique buildings in the centre of the village which had survived the last centuries and represented an important document for the evolution of the civilisation was on the one hand less expensive and on the other hand could preserve the grown character of this urbanisation sustainably. He pointed out particularly the solid construction and the materials used in former times (volcanic stone=basalt) which have a longer life than nowadays techniques and materials. To make this transformation possible, it deserves a team of 9 brick layers, 6 carpenters, 6 electricians, 3 plumbers, 1 master architect restoring in 3 months 3 houses, solid in their substance, to the price of 2 new buildings. Thanks to this approach, Chinese constructors could avoid the mistakes that have been made in Europe and could manage the balancing act between the preservation of traditional buildings and the longing for comfortable and modern living. Then these unique monuments would not be preserved as a museum but occupied by families and reintegrated into the village life.