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Song House de AZL: belonging

In 2018, Chinese architect Zhang Lei (AZL Architects) completed the Song House in Nansong Village, Fengxian. Commissioned by a retired electrical engineer, the 280‑sq.
metre house, built in his native village, accommodates the four generations that now make up his family. A way, says Zhang Lei, to revive ‘hollowed-out‘ villages.

Interviewed by Yên Bui

L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui: While in the year 2000, only seven per cent of Chinese people were 65 years old or over, this percentage has risen to 11% by 2018. As an
architect, how can your profession react to the ageing of global populations?

Zhang Lei : China is becoming an ageing society, but in large cities there is often a shortage of facilities for the elderly and they are unaffordable. On the other hand, a large number of old people living in ‘hollowed-out’ villages in the suburbs lack social interaction. It takes some time and effort to effectively utilise idle resources to rebuild a healthy living community for the elderly, and to create a way of living that pre-empts physical or social isolation.

[…]

Read the full interview in AA’s 434th issue – Getting old – avalaible in our online shop.

© Yao Li
© Yao Li

 

© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review
© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review

 

© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review
© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review

 

© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review
© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review

 

© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review
© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review

 

© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review
© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review

 

© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review
© Yufan Lu/The Architectural Review

 

Song House, Coupe longitudinale, AZL Architects. 2017.
Song House, Coupe longitudinale, AZL Architects. 2017.

 
Song House, Plan du rez-de-chaussée, AZL Architects. 2017.
Song House, Plan du rez-de-chaussée, AZL Architects. 2017.

 
Song House, Plan du premier étage, AZL Architects. 2017.
Song House, Plan du premier étage, AZL Architects. 2017.

 
Song House, Plan deuxième étage, AZL Architects. 2017.
Song House, Plan deuxième étage, AZL Architects. 2017.

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