Sustainable construction in Asia Pacific also means building for the community. This was clearly shown by the projects that won prizes in the regional Holcim Awards presented in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The three main Awards winning projects deal with buildings for education – involving the community and sustainably improving neighborhoods.

The project for the regeneration of Guming village, 20 km west of Nanning, China, offers a model for a socially appropriate and economically robust form of bottom-up urban transformation of rural communities around the country. The gradual upgrade of the existing neighborhood tissue, combined with new carefully integrated interventions, goes hand in hand with economic measures that guarantee – via stakeholder participation – a sustainable development of the village’s physical and social space.

Adjustment of industrial structure of the village

We adopt self-renewal pattern in the renewal of Guming village in two aspects: independent involvement and community empowerment. Independent involvement concentrates the requirements from the villagers and encourages self-expression and public participating construction. Community empowerment aims to optimize the industrial structure, strengthen villagers’ sense of belonging and improve their living, employment and working environment. The final target is to accelerate the sustainable development of Guming village.