SETTLING THE NOMADS

When we look at China, particularly in the last decade, we tend to focus on how the country has dealt with the process of massive urbanization. It is much less obvious to look at the rural world that was left behind. When the Chinese government decided to urbanize half of the seven hundred million people living in rural areas by 2030, Rural Urban Framework (RUF) started looking into how the quality of the built environment could be improved for all of those who are left out of the urbanization process. RUF’s work redefines the notion of quality in the rural context by connecting it with the development of skilled labor.
Unlike in the cities, where industrial corporatism is an important global force, in the rural world the connection with local building traditions, crafts, and family businesses is more evident. Without giving in to the temptation—common to other architects—of doing in China what might well be impossible elsewhere, RUF recovers the rural and local heritage as a source of originality and pertinence.
The example presented by RUF at this Biennale reveals a new aspect of the rural–urban transition in Mongolia.
Based on the promise of better living conditions, thousands of nomadic herdsmen have migrated to the capital Ulaanbaatar, building their permanent settlements with tents and wire fences but without access to the basic services usually available in cities. This is not just another example of urbanization conflicts; it is a battle between nomadic and sedentary lifestyles. RUF’s proposal explores the use of incremental architecture so as not to eradicate nomadic traditions, channeling that energy into permanent houses instead.