A finalist in this year’s World Habitat Awards for innovative and sustainable housing solutions, will you welcome please the Yaodong Cave Dwellings of the Loess Plateau in China.
'Three-quarters of regional population of 40 million in the Loess Plateau live in rural areas. Ninety per cent of these people live in various types of yaodong, or cave dwelling. The new model yaodong dwellings maintain connection with local and traditional roots whilst meeting the rapidly changing social and economic circumstances and expectations in China.
'The pioneering design has been developed in cooperation with the local community, and their participation in the design process is particularly valuable. This delivers an important sense of cultural continuity. Residents feel that the new yaodong has not been imposed on them from outside, but it has been borne out of their lives and traditions.
'The desirability of these dwellings has seen young people remaining in the area and even returning from the towns and cities, reversing the trend for rural depopulation and boosting the local economy and community infrastructure.'
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