House of Dreams is a community center created in an abandoned cave settlement in Zhoushan village, Dengfeng, Henan Province in China with the active participation of local villagers. The project gave the villagers a new perspective about design. The name “House of Dreams” derives from collective memories of villager elders who grew up in the caves. The project involved participatory design and construction of 19 caves as guestrooms, 3 new amenities blocks, a community kitchen and a dining hall, a meeting room, an exhibition space, three courtyards, retaining walls, an access ramp, and an entrance. 100 villagers collected household waste and took part in the construction, thereby putting their stories and memories on the surfaces. The participatory construction resulted in the minimization of construction costs, increased recycling, and reduction of landfill by using construction and household waste. The participatory design increased community pride, and raised local villagers’ understanding of reusing waste.

Insitu Project is an open platform that expands its approach to sustainable space, architecture, and urban development. It was responsible for architecture design as well as the community participatory design process in the House of Dreams. Since 2015, Insitu Project has conducted joint design projects in 12 villages and 22 communities and development planning in 5 communities, giving direct benefits to more than 800 villagers and indirect benefits to over 3,000 villagers. By implementing new designs and architectures tailored to each region so as to realize sustainability and circular economy, Insitu Project is expanding the possibility of adding new values to human settlement.

It was a very thoughtful project that involved reskilling the villagers.

— Charles Landry

A highly impressive project. It is fresh and impressive, in terms of not only participation and education but also material research. It provides great ideas contributing to the urban architectural environment.

— Anya Sirota

The project involved the participation of unskilled villagers to create and develop a model—based on genuine cooperation and community spirit—and the outcome itself is also aesthetically remarkable. The project had a ripple effect of creating various new initiatives. It instilled a sense of pride in the villagers, has had a great impact on the community, and is excellent in terms of sustainability.

— Rachel Troye

This is a good example that can be applied to many urban and rural areas in China. The use of inexpensive materials and local craftsmen, very simple but unique aesthetics, and the excellent participatory process yielded useful and practical outcomes for the community.

— Lu Xiaobo

📣Call for Entries for the 4th HCDA in October

The call for entries for the 4th HCDA will be opened in October via the HCDA website. Various events such as conferences and sessions will also be held in October.

🎥The Third Award Ceremony – Highlight Video