CHANGHE MEMORIAL MUSEUM

Terroir In Architecture Design

The preservation of collective memory in a settlement is an essential factor in the urbanization process of ancient towns. To understand Architecture is to understand the life it carries, and to understand the life it carries is imperative to understand the environment that created it. “Changhe” is a vernacular settlement in the Bingjiang District of Hangzhou. The main purpose of this project is to study and design around how the topography and vernacular character shaped the town and created it’s architecture language. The structure of the terroir contains two parts: the natural environment and the man-made environment, both reflected in the process of design and shaping the essence of this particular project, a combination that unifies the collective memory of this town.