General guidelines

> Pilot building design

The main objective of the project, was to create a pilot building, characterized by high energy efficiency, built with local constructive characters and materials and reproducible in similar rural contexts, with possible minor modifications.

The building will have to respect the internationally recognized parameters to be identified as nZEB, having a very low energy consumption and producing energy on site. The goal is to create a building that in total has an energy consumption lower than 30 kWh/m²year, which nowadays is the limit to classify, according to the energy certification agency CasaClima, which is one of the most important in Italy nowadays, a building as “CasaClima A”. The upper level is the “CasaClima Gold”, for buildings with a consumption lower than 10 kWh/m²year.

Nevertheless, in such a place, the creation of something new must necessarily move together with the conservation of the existing buildings and its redevelopment. Therefore it was necessary to start from the projects carried out by NTNU and SEU, with particular attention to the Work Packages and to the thesis of Ana Despa, discussed in section 3.9; starting from them, it was possible to move with a well-defined perspective in relation to the local reality and to the characteristics that the new project should have had.

But the interest in Hou Ji could depend a lot on how the existing courtyards will be conserved and used in the future. If the present usage pattern prevails, very few owners will find it interesting to invest money in conservation, with the consequence that the buildings will decay, and the loss of cultural heritage will be substantial. The need for finding profitable use for the future courtyards, in addition to improve the owners life quality, will therefore be crucial for the future of the historic dwellings and the villages in the area.

Therefore it was important to clarify from the beginning that would be realized a project which would integrate the redevelopment plan of the existing historic

homes of Hou Ji by NTNU and SEU, and the use in new construction of new building types and energy systems, with the aim to pave the way for a renewal of Hou Ji village.

> Occupants and three intended uses

After the first design considerations, given the conformation of the site, it was decided that the design should have been directed towards the creation of several buildings, with construction and morphological characteristics as similar as possible, but with different functions. This was decided hand in hand with the choice of the intended use of the different parts of the area, this because the choice would have influenced the type of building, as well as the distribution of the buildings.

In this sense, the site is narrow and long and has the following dimensions:

width: 20.80 - 21.20 m length: 62.40 m

Right from the start it was decided to allocate a building as a private residence, designed for a family of four to five people, who could take care of the project area throughout the year. At the same time, it immediately emerged how it was necessary to design a private house since it would have been the first choice in case of construction or reproduction in another place.

This family nucleus, likely to be found among the inhabitants of the area of Hou Ji village or the city of Pingyao, should have a medium or medium-high income and should really have interest in participating in the process of redevelopment of the village and the area.

At the same time there was the need to renovate, giving an intended use to new buildings that was not already present in the village, putting together the concepts carried out by the initial analysis on Hou Ji.

First of all it was decided to build an accommodation facility, which would put into practice the tourist reception goals designed for the area, given the proximity of the Shuanglin Temple and the ancient city of Pingyao, both UNESCO sites. The structure, designed as a hostel and therefore having affordable prices to all population segments, could be used as a base to visit the area or to learn more about the typical life of Chinese rural villages, using

Fig. 4.4 ►

Off scale schematic representation of the project site.

integrated farming themed workshops together with the local population.

Lastly it was decided to design a semi-public multifunctional building that could allow the local population to have a place to sell local products, fresh or cooked, or even just a space that can be used by the villagers for public activities, given the current lack of aggregation spaces.

Referring to the products sale, it is a very important concept, having the Hou Ji area a strong agricultural vocation, with most of the inhabitants occupied in that sector; therefore an intended use of this kind could increase the possibility of selling products for the local population, based on an increase in tourist attraction.

Then together with the use of the historical tradition there was the needing of a more dynamic reference, another scenario of the future use of the external space in the new project. In this way the basic concept was to introduce the idea of “agro-tourism”: the rooftops and the courtyards, instead of just being paved places used only in warm periods, could have been used as space for growing vegetables and plants for the site sustenance. To do so, the goal was to integrate the ownership of the buildings in order to allow the tenants of private house to manage the hostel: the family owner, could give rooms for tourists who would like to stay in those traditional surroundings and learn to know and take part in farming activities together with the hosting family.

> Overcoming part of local traditions

In the dwellings present within the village, in many cases the inhabitants still have lifestyles unsuitable for the modern criteria of quality of life and living comfort. For example, most of domestic activities take place in a room where the kang is present, which is a raised bed made of masonry usually connected to a stove used to heat buildings and cook; therefore it is heated by the smoke from the cooking process, and represents the main source of heating during the winter season. It is understandable that the quality of indoor air is very bad and can lead to disorders and pathologies for those who live there.

In the summer instead, which can be rather hot in Hou Ji, the cooking process takes place outside in the courtyards, which brings with it other hygienic problems. Also in summer the kang is used for sleeping, during the daytime as well, thus not separating the internal rooms according to their function.

Multifunctional building

Semi-public Semi-private

Private

Hostel Private House

◄ ^{Fig. 4.5}

Intended use of the three new building designed.

It is therefore important to construct buildings that have high quality standards for the life of tenants and users of buildings compared to existing ones in line with western construction and design methods.

> Guidelines from local buildings

Hand in hand with the overcoming of some local practices however, it was decided to utilize the most important concepts of the design of local historic houses, which is very much based on symbolic and spiritual criteria, as well as on a clear division of the spaces, strictly linked to functions and occupants.

At the same time it was important that the new buildings were consistent with the neighbouring structures, with partly similar characteristics in the use of materials and also respecting the height criteria: in fact almost all the buildings in the village are one storey high, with a walkable roof; therefore since the beginning the will was to respect the local “skyline”, designing buildings one floor high.

> Siheyuan

Another starting point for developing design considerations is to use the local siheyuan model, with its hierarchical system of sequential courts. In the local culture the courtyard works as a collective and social space for the residents,

Fig. 4.6 ► Image showing the uniform building height in Hou Ji and the use of flat-walkable roof.

Photo made by Ingrid T. Ødegård

Fig. 4.7 ► Five historical houses based on the siheyuan typology located south of the project site, in front of the entrance.

where each building has one door and windows addressing towards it. For domestic life it works well as a place where the family sit together performing daily life activities, where cooking takes place in the summer. Therefore it is important to use this design inspiration for including in the project courtyards that are adequately integrated with the site functions.

> Use the same construction type for all buildings

With the aim of designing buildings that are as sustainable as possible and with relatively short construction times, it was decided that the buildings should have similar construction characteristics. This is connected to the fact that the thesis is based on the design of a pilot building characterized by very precise elements, which can be reproduced with modifications of the internal spaces or of the fixtures, maintaining its main characteristics. In this sense the designed buildings should use: the same type of structure, therefore the same materials that make up the stratigraphy of walls, floor and roofs; the same passive strategies consistent with the local climate; the same type of energy system combined with the use of renewable energy production systems on site.

> Used regulations

After numerous researches concerning the Chinese and European/Italian legislative framework referred to the building sector, it was chosen to use the latters as normative references. In fact, the Italian and European regulations have much more detailed and much more stringent requirements regarding the design of new buildings with low energy consumption. The same applies to the criteria referring to the transmittance values of opaque and transparent components, which in the last few years have reached very high standards in the case of European regulations. Also regarding the renewable energy quotas that the building must produce on site: in Italy for example, according to the Legislative Decree 28/2011¹ from 2018 there is an obligation to cover with renewables at least 50% of the consumption of new buildings or buildings subjected to major renovations.

> Renewable sources

It is very important that the project foresees the use of renewable energy sources to reduce as much as possible the energy needs and the possible consumption of fossil fuels. From the outset it has been foreseen that buildings should include three systems:

• photovoltaic panels to reduce as much as possible the demand for electricity by powering electrical components and lights

• solar thermal panels to reduce as much as possible the energy used for

4.1 Legislative Decree 03/03/2011 n.28, Implementation of Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC

heating water

• rainwater collection tank, to be used for bathroom drains or to irrigate eventual green areas.