Learning from the Ordinary Design Workshop Review
Nanjing University,The Chinese University of Hong Kong,Southeast University,ETH Zurich
Learning from the Ordinary Design Workshop Review
Sustainable design through low-tech strategies and local knowledge
"Ordinary things contain the deepest mysteries"
——Robin Evans, Figures, Doors, and Passages, 1978
Instructor:
Prof. Dr. Shuaizhong Wang (CUHK)
Prof. Dr. Yue Zhao (SEU)
Dr. Federico Bertagna (ETH Zurich)
Bartosz Bukowski (ETH Zurich)
Collaborating Tutor:
Prof. Dr. Xiaoning Hua; Prof. Dr. Youpei Hu; Dr. Xiancuhan Meng (NJU)
Participants:
Ding Rulan, Gao Heyu, Wang Xiaonan, Xu Yiping, Yan Han, Zhao Yilin, Zhou Jingjing, Zhu Zhuoying (NJU)
Fong Sze Yuet, Hou Long, So Cheuk Hin, Yu Hei Tung (CUHK)
Volunteers:
Lu Xingyu, Liang Pengwei, Xu Xiande (NJU)
Collaborator：
Quansheng Zhao，Construction Team Manager
Guan Hua，NJU
Organizers:Nanjing University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Collaborators: Southeast University, ETH Zurich
Supporting Units: Nanjing Pukou Cultural and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing Xiangtang Construction and Development Co., Ltd.
The "Learning from the Ordinary" design workshop, jointly directed by Nanjing University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Southeast University and ETH Zurich, Switzerland, was officially launched on June 24, 2024, and ended successfully on July 19, 2024.This workshop aims to combine the elements of everyday life with the concept of circular construction and explore a sustainable building design method in the ground.This joint design workshop is also part of the 2024 "Rural Revitalization Workshop in Suzhou, Hong Kong and Macau" initiated and hosted by the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University.During the four-week workshop, four tutors worked with 12 students from the Department of Architecture of Nanjing University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong on the design and construction of a space installation in Xiangtang Village, Nanjing.After 15 days of analysis and design and 5 days of on-site construction, the final result of the workshop, A Pavilion, was completed on the slope of the north side of Xiangtang Village.On July 19, a number of professors and experts conducted an academic discussion on this achievement.The results of the workshop will be exhibited until July 26.
Introduction
In recent decades, reducing the environmental impact of the construction industry has become an urgent issue for society to address, with designers playing a crucial role in this process. This design workshop, set in Xiangtang Village on the outskirts of Nanjing, aims to uncover the poetry in everyday life, explore adaptive structures, promote the reusing of materials and information, and activate the site's potential. Additionally, it seeks to reflect on the existing frameworks of these concepts through hands-on experience.
The four-week program is divided into four stages: site analysis, conceptual design, structural research, and design-build. Students experienced the entire process from design to construction: starting with site analysis, researching local materials and building techniques, and ultimately developing a complete design plan from concept to implementation. By closely integrating space, structure, materials, and the building process, the workshop designed a new spatial node for Xiangtang Village.
Workshop Schedule:
Week 1: Each of the 12 students independently conducts site observations and analyses, initially selecting 4 directions for further development. This includes detailed site analysis, small-scale model making, and conceptual exploration.
Personal concept design
Group design
Week 2: Students work in groups of 3 to refine the 4 design concepts and create preliminary design plans.
Preliminary design plans
Week 3: The 4 concepts are integrated into a final design. Groups simultaneously work on detailed design development, testing materials, and construction details.
Integrateddesign
The final Design
Construction details
Week 4: On-site construction takes place, followed by an exhibition and seminar.
Interpretation
Red Canopy is located on the northern slope of Xiangtang in Pukou, Nanjing. It is an enormous floating structure made of bamboo of varying thickness and woven fabric, aiming to respond to the natural, historical, and social environment of Xiangtang on a topographical scale. Covering an area of 750 square meters, the pavilion, with its exceptional size, form, and color, adds a distinctive character to the silent site, revealing the yet undiscovered poetry of the slope.
Supported only by six pairs of columns defining its spatial boundaries, the suspended roof is made of 2-meter-wide woven fabric strips, serving a dual function: they are both tensile components and define the space below. Curved bamboo ribs stretch across the fabric, transferring forces back to the support points, creating a hybrid structural system. This continuous surface creates shade during the hot and humid summer at Xiangtang. The construction process, completed in just five days, was carried out independently by 12 students from the architecture departments of Nanjing University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Red Canopy combines the ordinary with the concept of circular construction, exploring a sustainable architectural design method that is locally rooted. The main components of the building come from easily accessible local materials, assembled using low-tech construction techniques commonly used in the village. The thin bamboo strips forming the ribs were harvested nearby with the help of local villagers, and the woven fabric is a cheap polypropylene material commonly used for wind and rain protection in this area. This practicality-oriented hybrid approach creates a new ordinariness between temporary and permanent, natural and artificial, local and global. All components are minimally processed to retain maximum reuse potential, allowing them to be returned to the villagers for different everyday uses in the future
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Red Canopy aims to closely integrate space, structure, materials, and construction to design a new anchor for spatial development in Xiangtang, serving as a medium connecting residents and visitors, history and present, and the village with the outside world.
Presentation
The opening ceremony of the Design Results Exhibition and the academic seminar was held on July 19, 2024 in the Hall.The seminar was honored to invite four teachers, Zhao Chen, Hu Youpei, Zhang Zhun and Guo Liaohui, and had an inspiring discussion on the results of the work camp based on their own thinking and practice.At the same time, the exhibition of work camp design results will continue until July 26.
Students' impressions:
HeyuGao :
A village to touch, a new process to learn, a reliable team, some memorable friendsNumerous brainstorming and speaking challenges, a good English classA hands-on construction in the middle of summer, a bright pavilion, countless nodes from scratchA dream I don't want to wake up fromLook forward to meeting again
YipingXu :
Learning From the Ordinary workshop is a fulfilling, unique, and sometimes crazy experience.In the early stage of site analysis, we were encouraged to use different perspectives to discover the potential daily life in the village; In the concept stage, I carried out the design with sketches and models at an extraordinary speed, and the rapid construction made me realize the charm of Learning by Doing. In the third week of structural research, I drew detailed drawings of the scheme as a digital model group, which also made me more clear about the structural system and construction process. In the final construction phase, I faced new difficulties on the site every day and tried to solve them. I also gained a lot of real construction experience.Thank you very much for the guidance of the four enthusiastic and experienced teachers. The friendship gained in this process is also valuable. I am very happy to complete the construction of a pavilion with you!
Yan Han:
The one-month design workshop ended successfully!From almost regretting participating to regretting almost missing out!Our design starts from the discussion of daily life, excavates the materials and structures used in the site, combines the concept of circular construction, and explores the adaptive structure and the sustainable building design method in the site.Key words: Crazy, Dynamic, High-intensityCrazy: Just 12 students and 4 teachers built a device of more than 750 square meters in 5 days!Dynamic: Huge pavilions like red rivers, undulating in the valley.The building is completed by low-tech construction methods, the components are minimally processed, there is no accurate data, the construction process is designed while doing, changes continue to the last moment of completion.High-intensity: It took four weeks to complete the process from site analysis and conceptual design to structural study and construction.This work camp was the first time for me to participate in the whole process from design to construction. For me personally, it was not only the training of construction, but also the challenge of coordinating the needs of all parties.Thank you very much for the assistance of Xiangtang, the guidance of teachers, the cooperation and tolerance of partners, the participation of volunteers, and Prof. Hu's recommendation!!
YilinZhao :
Under the guidance of Mr. Wang, Mr. Zhao and Federico and Bartosz of ETH Structural Design Group, together with their partners, they built a large suspension structure device, "A Pavilion", which covers an area of 750 square meters and is composed of bamboo and woven cloth of different thickness, in Nanjing Xiangtang Village.I remember last year in Teacher Sejima's lecture, I marveled at the extremely high degree of completion of SANAA's architecture and the perfect coordination of its space and structure. In addition to the excellent scheme, the final perfect presentation may also come from the designer's involvement and deep participation in the whole process of each design link.In the work camp, for the first time, I deeply participated in the process of "purchasing materials from the hardware market → testing materials and structures → determining the final materials → conducting structural tests according to different scales", and discussed the treatment of material & joint in the design, which is an important part of ensuring the landing of the construction.After the construction, we can already see that the red woven fabric material we used began to be used by the villagers in Xiangtang Village, and it returned to Ordinary.Thank you very much to the teachers and the partners who built together, see you in the next design; -)
JingjingZhou :
The one-month course was busy and full. From site analysis and theme discussion to conceptual design, scheme model making and material node thinking, the first two weeks were filled with freely divergent ideas and logical advancement.In the hall of Aboriginal "invisibility", we must put aside our prejudice against "ordinary" to truly discover the wisdom and poetry hidden in daily life.We spent the next two weeks as a unit, working together on a very experimental architectural practice.The 750m² pavilion responds to everyday reflections with non-everyday scales, forms and colours.The workshop attempted to use materials found in everyday life and to construct a complex hybrid structure system through low-tech construction methods, which involved a thought-provoking topic of building functions and the reuse of components and materials.
ZhuoyingZhu :
Completing a project from 0 to 1 in a month was challenging in itself, but when we used locally harvested bamboo and the ubiquitous snakesskin bags as the main materials, we built a 750 square meter suspended structure; When we use low-tech and simple node connections so that everyone can quickly get started and produce; This challenge is even more difficult when we are building without a professional construction team on site.And yet, in five days, we were done!From site contact, drawing, material purchase, node testing, foundation excavation, scaffolding installation, bamboo rib processing, fabric integration, and a dedicated team for exhibition planning and layout and model making, we completed this seemingly impossible challenge.In addition to the joy of the completion of the construction, there is a little regret for me, because the material node and the structural form are not completely suitable, resulting in the building does not better serve the site and villagers and tourists, but this regret also indicates the next direction.Finally, I would like to thank you for what I have gained in this month, especially the memory and friendship of fighting side by side with excellent teachers, classmates and volunteers. I will always miss you and wish you all the best!!
Alex：
This unqiue experience of building the ‘Red Canopy’ is very fruitful to me in this summer.
I noticed that it will be a tough process for the first 3 weeks as we can only work online. In these weeks, we collaborated with students from NJU for the final pavilion design alongside with tutor’s assistance. Although we had different ideologies and opinions, we were able to mix it together and confirm our final design. I really appreciate the effort put by our teammates and tutors as they help us further understand the concepts and methodologies.
For the last week, it’s even more tough and packed as all construction work needs to be done in 4.5 days. I love how efficient our team is and the clear division of work along with our hard work and endurance. This forms a perfect team and eventually the final project. At the first moment, I doubt the feasibility and the structures, but once when the frames become clearer days after days, I really trust the profession of the tutors and the effort of our team.
Stella:
I am honored to have the opportunity to participate in this work camp!Although I only joined NTU in the second week, I also had a lot of opportunities to learn from and cooperate with NTU students, and came into contact with a lot of friendly and experienced teachers.I learned from them the importance of the design process - a few sentences of clear and concise logic that explains the design story is often more powerful than the design result.As a member of the design exhibition, I am also very happy to finally bring the story of this red tent to everyone!Each section of the process is also the crystallization of everyone's efforts, so that these exhibits appear remarkable, you are welcome to have a feel at your leisure.
Vanessa:
Participating in the "Learning from the Ordinary" design workshop has been a thrilling experience for me as an architecture student. This project has shown me that the site's materials, weather, and layout really call the shots when it comes to the final design, so that it fits the site perfectly. Apart from that, dealing with a real project has also opened my eyes to the difference between idealistic designs and practical results. Sometimes what we think works on paper doesn't quite pan out in reality, teaching me the importance of staying flexible and rolling with the punches during construction.The whole idea of recycling the used materials for the red canopy inspired me a lot, it got me thinking about the lifecycle of architecture and how we can be more sustainable in our designs.
Being part of the exhibition setup crew has been a crash course in event planning, but it's been a blast working with students from Nagjin University and learning from our awesome professors.This workshop has given me a fresh perspective on architecture and how it interacts with the world around us.
