Morphology and Typology: A Village as a Cultural and Environmental Process

Abstract

A village is a rural settlement that has grown in close relation with the environment and geography, being constantly shaped by the social and cultural development. The most powerful force fostering environmental change in China is the undergoing urbanization, which has changed, not only the form of cities but also, the form of rural settlements, including villages. In general, most villages have disappeared during the process of urban growth. However, some remain, by various reasons, although under very controversial conditions, both culturally and environmentally. The project for the small community of Huangzhuang in the northern part of China’s Jiangsu province is examined in this chapter as a practice case in village revitalization. Design efforts were made to integrate contemporary facilities in the existing settlement fabric. The architectural interventions, though modest, have catalyzed a new-found confidence among residents concerning their communal assets. These interventions have revalued everyday resources of people and place as the basis for making a lifestyle in decline more liveable. The chapter will show how design can be based on research and conclude on the meaning of using morphological research in practice, debating why practice needs research, how it works and in which ways it can be done.