Featured Project: Chinese Sustainable Village Prototype
Project Update - January 2007 - After learning about this project's beginnings as described below, we encourage you to read the latest news about our continuing work in Huangbaiyu.
Background - Project Description and Scope of Work - Project Goals and Measures of Success - Schedule
Ecoworks Foundation is the lead "investor" in a project in Northeast China to develop a prototype of a sustainable rural village. This project is led by the International Sustainable Development Foundation's China-US Center for Sustainable Development. Ecoworks Foundation, in addition to providing seed capital in the form of a matching grant, has driven the definition of the project including goals and measures of success. We see this project as an excellent example of Ecoworks Foundation's operational philosophy of employing business methodologies to drive measurable progress toward its goals. Please read more below about this exciting project.
Background
In September 2002, the Joint Board of Councilors for the China-U.S. Center (www.chinauscenter.org) for Sustainable Development ("China-U.S. Center") prioritized the development of a sustainable village based on cradle-to-cradle design principles as a scalable model for China's revitalization and sustainable development of rural communities. Following a nationwide request for proposals by China's national government, the rural area of Huangbaiyu (pronounced Wong by You) near Benxi City in Northeast China's Liaoning Province was selected for the first model village design.
Over the course of the past two years, a Master Plan has been developed by a joint China-US design team and refined with village leaders and community residents to reflect the traditions and lifestyles of the area. With this new design, Huangbaiyu Village has a unique opportunity to redefine itself economically, socially and environmentally.
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Project Description and Scope of Work
The village is now at an exciting point of opportunity. Experts from Tongji Unviversity's design center are currently developing a systematic implementation plan (including water, energy, and transportation plans) for the village. Once the Tongji University (TU) implementation plan is complete, the Benxi Design Institute (BDI) will prepare construction drawings and plans for the first phase of the sustainable village design (approximately 50 homes). Construction on the first phase of Master Plan implementation is scheduled to commence in April 2005, with completion targeted for June 2005.
In order to guide the sustainable implementation of Phase I construction in the village, the design and development of on-site building prototypes are a vital necessity - to demonstrate "green" building construction to the villagers. This project will be the leading edge effort in the overall implementation of the sustainable village Master Plan. In addition to the Phase I design and construction of model homes, the Plan features cradle to cradle design innovations in several other areas, including village infrastructure, energy systems, information technology, mobility/transportation, water, wastewater and solid waste management, as well as the creation of cradle to cradle commercial enterprises.
The China-U.S. Center respectively requests a grant of $25,000 from the Ecoworks Foundation to assist in the design and construction of two building prototypes and one building remodel in Huangbaiyu village. The grant will be used to generate "matching funds" from other sources.
The specific scope of work will include:
- Housing Unit A - Biological Nutrient Construction System Prototype
- Design building prototype using locally available "biological nutrients", including but not limited to earthen bricks and straw bales
- Prepare construction documents for building prototype
- Oversee and document construction of prototype by village residents
- Housing Unit B - Technical Nutrient Construction System Prototype
- Design building prototype using selected "technical nutrients", including but not limited to BASF's Styropor(r) expandable polystyrene (EPS) resins
- Prepare construction documents for building prototype
- Oversee and document construction of prototype by village residents
- School Remodel - Technical Nutrient Construction System
- Manage selection and procurement of "technical nutrient" construction materials and electronic educational materials from suppliers
- Design building prototype using selected "technical nutrients", including but not limited to BASF's Styropor(r) expandable polystyrene (EPS) resins
- Prepare construction documents for building prototype
- Oversee and document construction of prototype by village residents
- Documentation and Dissemination
- Document all stages of pre-design, design, and construction
- Provide a proposed set of standards, resulting from the implementation of cradle to cradle standards in this village, in a format that could be adopted by the Chinese.
- Coordinate with TU to prepare Chinese-language "DIY" construction manuals for prototypes
- Create and manage program to assess and document building performance and conformance of completed buildings to design specifications
- Create resource materials to enable development of future projects based on Huangbaiyu model
- Build local capacity through the develop training modules for each phase of the project
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Project Goals and Measures of Success
The goals of the project, including corresponding indicators and metrics to measure success in achieving the goals, include:
- Goal One - Standard Setting
To set the design standard for a model sustainable village, including the establishment of such leading edge cradle to cradle (C2C) design elements as "technical nutrients" and "biological nutrients".
- Goal Two - Capacity Building
To create a "living laboratory and classroom", equipped with monitoring equipment, to test and evaluate building performance and construction techniques, that will a) demonstrate to villagers how to build their homes in a manner consistent with C2C design principles and b) serve as a model for other villages throughout China.