Circulating Rainwater: Multi-Party Rural Landscape Creation
Honor Award
Student Community Service Award
Dengfeng City, Henan Province, China
Wenyan Bian, Student International ASLA;
Xinchen Guo, Student International ASLA;
Zixuan Zhao;
Zhihong Jiang;
Weiqiong Lin;
Xuanshu Tao;
Ji Qi;
Zhenyu Wang;
Kexin Zhao;
Yilin Che;
Jinzhuo Li;
Yuyuwei He;
Zexiang Deng;
Jiaxue Guo;
Qiyun Chen;
Haoyan Li;
Zhiao Luo;
He Zhou;
Congying Luo;
Qiushi Zhuang;
Faculty Advisors:
Junjie Li;
Yongquan Chen;
Shan Dai;
Shuqian Chen;
Ziyi Guo, Associate ASLA;
Beijing Jiaotong University
This is a notable project pertaining to addressing water shortages and soil erosion through the process of envisioning a low-carbon water circulating landscape. The project introduces and summarizes the research goals, and identifies local, already existing adaptive reuse and hydrological wisdom, to build upon and achieve these goals. This strategy is commendable.
- 2024 Awards Jury
Project Credits
Chan Cheung Mun Chung Charitable Fund
Sponsorship；Strategic support；Resource linkage
Yue Yang, Qian Guo, Ruihua Xue, Xiaotong Liu, Jiaqing Zhao, Yang Sun
Additional Team Members:
Project Statement
This project in Zhoushan Village, Henan, China, addresses water shortages and soil erosion through a low-carbon water circulating landscape. It uses local and recycled materials and employs permeable paving to protect the ecosystem and reduce costs. The muti-party participation model enhances villagers' skills and environmental awareness. The design team and suppliers improved cultural and technical knowledge, bringing economic benefits to elderly workers. Coordinated by NGOs, this collaboration not only tackled practical issues but also strengthened community ties and promoted rural revitalization.
Project Narrative
Background
Global warming has increased carbon emissions and natural disasters. Rural areas, lacking drainage systems, face severe flooding and drought. Proper rainwater storage brings significant benefits. Strengthening rural water systems with low-carbon, sustainable solutions is essential. We chose Zhoushan Village, Dengfeng City, Henan Province, as a pilot site.
Research
The project, conducted at the "House of Dreams" in Zhoushan Village, known for its unique cave architecture. On-site surveys assessed villagers' water needs. Average rainfall is 92.811 mm in spring and 528.297 mm in summer. Proper rainwater use can turn droughts and floods into benefits.
Guidelines
The project follows three principles: environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Design principles include utilizing existing conditions, protecting ecology, controlling costs with recyclable materials, and cooperative construction.
Muti-party participation
The project uses a multi-party model where each party performs its duties, learns, gains experience, supervises one another, and contributes wisdom.
Process
On-site storm tests determined the lowest point of roads. A primary filtration pond on the south side collects runoff. The reservoir's location was determined by natural terrain depression, with rainwater collection pond in open areas. Buried pipes connect them. Terrain elevation creates gravity water pressure, allowing water to flow through a filtration system. Wastewater is collected in an underground gray water tank and pumped back for recycling when full.Ultimately transform soil erosion disasters into water resource benefits.
Assessment
Environmental Sustainability: The project maintains a carbon emission intensity of 35.45 kg CO2-eq/m².The carbon emission intensity is nearly 500 CO2-eq/m² lower than that of typical water storage and green water circulation facilities, with total carbon emissions of 31,334.6 kg CO2-eq over 25 years. Local, renewable, and low-cost materials reduce transportation-related emissions.The preservation of existing vegetation not only shapes the landscape space, but also promotes the project's ability to maintain a stable carbon sink capacity.
Economic Sustainability: Utilizing local rainwater reduces tap water usage and saves on water bills. With a rainwater collection area of 364.47㎡ and a reservoir capacity of 24m³, it meets the water needs of 6 permanent residents in winter and 20 temporary residents in summer. The project provides benefits to local elderly workers., saving material costs and keeping operational costs low.
Social Sustainability: The project fosters social cooperation, enhancing villagers' sense of belonging and cohesion, promoting rural economic development, and achieving rural revitalization. Low-carbon, environmentally friendly, and local cultural values are conveyed.
After construction, the site transformed from a forest area severely affected by soil erosion into a demonstration site for rainwater circulating.Villagers inspected the site, followed by evaluation meetings for feedback. Communicating with the villagers helps to establish a more practical construction model for broader dissemination, and we hope to attract more external resources for rural development.
Plant List:
- Plum tree
- Poplar tree
- Spotted grass
- Coptis chinensis
- Iris
- wood sorrel
- Yellow iris
- Scallion
- Ligustrum vicaryi
- Calendula officinalis
- Calamus