Architect sees warm future for wooden homes

By turning yesteryear's buildings into tomorrow's dwellings, Chen Guodong injects new life into tradition in Guizhou

Chen Guodong, an architect born in 1985 who grew up in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and studied in Japan, now enjoys an ideal life building houses he loves in a remote county in Guizhou province.

In 2017, he moved his architectural practice, Mume Design, from Japan to Guizhou's Liping county to build wooden houses designed for modern village life.

Liping is home to some of China's most traditional villages and to all kinds of wooden buildings, including drum towers and heliang (a kind of wooden structure for drying grain), which have been built in the area since ancient times.

"I have been in love with these wooden buildings since I was at university," Chen said, speaking with a noticeable Guizhou accent.

After spending years in the province, especially in its rural areas, Chen's Mandarin now has a local inflection, and he prefers to be called a "rural designer" rather than an architect.

"I have been thinking about what rural areas will be like in the future and how living spaces built from wood can serve villagers better," he said. "The idea is worth exploring and putting into practice."

Unlike most young people who prefer urban life, Chen loves working in remote areas. He said that he can build and do field research at the same time in Liping because its wooden architecture has been preserved for over a thousand years.

Chen sees the craft as pure and simple, creating homes for generations of people.