The Third International Colleges and Universities Construction Competition of 2018 concluded in Wan ‘an，a county of Jiangxi province on August 15. Tianjin University sent two teams to participate in the two-day long competition, Tianjin University team and the United Team of Syracuse University and Tianjin University, both of which won the second prize.
This competition took "Q Village Xia Mu Tang" as the theme. Xia Mu Tang is a small village located in Wan ‘an. It has beautiful natural scenery with luxuriant forests and several ponds. Formerly, there were more than 50 families in the village. However, with the acceleration of urbanization, more and more young people fled to the metropolis. The village's aging citizens and population loss became more and more serious, making the village decline and lose its vitality. This competition convened 21 Universities from around the world, striving to reenergize Village Xia Mu Tang. The teams competed fiercely in architectural and landscape enhancement, art installations and rural furniture creation, and other construction methods. All the designs enhanced the village and made it more colorful".
The Work “Dance of Xia Mu Tang” by Tianjin University’s team built a landmark gathering place around the ancient camphor tree in the village and decorated it with reed lamps. It is meant to be a token of reunion, happiness and love. This work integrated the interests of landscape, behavior and tourism.
The work "Fluorescent of Xia Mu Tang" by joint team of Syracuse University and Tianjin University was inspired by Monet’s work “Haystack” and Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”. Using local materials, it designed a special architecture where people will see starlight and fireflies whenever they look up at the rooftop inside the room.
The Competition was launched by the local government and hosted by the CBC architectural center. Cui Kai, the academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, served as the chairman of the evaluation committee. He is also the honorary President and chief architect of China Architectural Design Institute co., LTD, and director of the local Design Research Center.
By Bao Yanyan
Editors: Yin Wei & Doris Harrington
