Heritage and Tradition

What does the past impart to the future?

History offers artifacts that manifest our memories, identities and world views. History also shows us how to build. This includes construction know-how, locally-sourced materials, and climate-responsive design strategies. The tradition-inspired approach leads to low-impact solutions that can enhance community life and livelihood. Here, the question is how to integrate the new with the old, to make solutions suited to contemporary living.

Perspectives from China and Mongolia

Holcim Awards 2023 Asia Pacific Gold winner Fujian Tulou, (Zhangzhou, Fujian, China) restores dilapidated or abandoned heritage structures to bring vibrancy back to rural communities. The Silver winner Ger Plug-In 3.0 (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) juxtaposes traditional tented structures with resource-efficient home extensions for healthier, low-impact living.

In this conversation steered by sustainable design expert and Ecogradia’s editor-in-chief, Nirmal Kishnani, the two projects’ team members – Tiantian Xu and Joshua Bolchover – reveal how exactly they will get it done.