Miaoxia, a rural village in Sichuan Province, exemplifies the casualties of China’s rapid urbanization: It’s impoverished and hollowed out, with an aging population and dwindling farming revenues. The Miaoxia Community Guest House, renovated and expanded to accommodate an additional 20 people in six rooms, was constructed with the participation of more than 70 local elders in an attempt to boost tourism. In the past, efforts to draw groups and generate new revenue for the village failed due to a lack of accommodations; operating as a co-op, the new guest house, built with a traditional nail-free technique of interlocking beams (which makes the wood-framed structure highly resistant to earthquakes), marks the first step toward making other initiatives possible.

Project: Miaoxia Community Guest House Location: Miaoxia, China Firm: Insitu Project, Hong Kong

Team: Peter Hasdell and Kuo Jze Yi with Clarence Ku and Tan Ming