Tongwei, China

Tongwei County R-BIC

Rural Business and Innovation Center

Modourbano

3D Scheme

The European Union-sponsored project known as From Rural Isolation to Market Integration (hereafter known as “Tongwei II)” is a forty-two month rural development and microfinance project which promotes and supports entrepreneurship and green development in two poor counties in rural Gansu province, China. This project is being implemented by PlaNet Finance and the Tongwei County government. Tongwei II is multi-faceted project with each activity designed to reduce the kind of isolation from information, technology, and financial services that prevents rural communities from developing in a healthy and sustainable way. At the core of the project is the creation of China’s first Rural Business and Innovation Center (“R-BIC”) which will be the hub for access to crucial information and trainings on renewable energy technologies, green design application for rural houses, sustainable agriculture practices, and fostering of entrepreneurial activities. R-BIC will be built as an eco-friendly building embedded with renewable energy and informed by principles of green design, making the building itself a learning tool for teaching renewable resource conservation and exploitation.

Level 0

Social sustainability The design of this building reflects the needs of the community it will serve in terms of function, space distribution and iconicconnotation. It was designed so that the community can fully utilize the building and all of its functions, and, in doing so, can feel a connection and comfort to the space that is created.

Level 01

Economic feasibility Economic feasibility refers not only to the costs associated with construction, but also to the costs associated with the building’s short- and long-term operations and management. As it relates to construction costs, the design incorporates local construction material and local labour skills. As it relates to operations and management, the design inherently optimizes the resources involved (water, energy, etc.)

Functional Scheme

Eco-friendly solutions The incorporation of eco-friendly solutions into the design positively affects the overall quality of the building and its surroundings. These solutions define what the impact of the building will be on the environment, they orient the building’s energy performances (efficiency, consumption, saving), and they enhance the environmental awareness of its users. The solutions will be implemented in a systemic way, holistically integrating passive solutions with technological solutions. Examples of passive solutions include envelope design, a green rooftop, natural lighting, natural ventilation, etc. Examples of technological solutions include solar heaters, PV panels, a geothermal system, rain water collection, construction materials, etc.

Courtyard View

Following this approach, R-BIC’s concept design presents the idea of a single oval forum. The most evident change from the previous idea presented to the Tongwei Government is the concentration of all functions (agricultural knowledge centre, training and meeting spaces, renewable energy showcase, kitchen, laboratory, accommodation, experimental growing areas, classrooms and green roof area) into a single shape, emphasizing the interaction of the functions and reducing construction costs. The building’s simple and natural shape is designed around an external courtyard. The idea behind this courtyard space is that it serves as a bridge between Chinese and western culture: the space was conceived as an evolution from the typical siheyuan court, a common space for the daily life of the R-BIC just as the siheyuan court is a common space for the daily life of many Chinese. At the same time, the space also incorporates elements from the classical western arena (external theatre, external gathering space) and encourages the space to host part of the activities organized by R-BIC. Though simple and natural, RBIC was nevertheless designed to be an innovative and technologically advanced shape that references the European Union’s concern with the environment.

Sustainable Solutions

Interior - Auditorium

Street View

Europaconcorsi Beta

Tongwei County R-BIC