The Chinese Houses With Rooftop FARMS

The Chinese Houses With Rooftop FARMS: Residents Can Grow Their Own Food And Rear Animals on Eco Properties Erected in Aftermath of Devastating Earthquake

• Jintai Village is located near Guangyuan, Sichuan Province, and was badly affected by an earthquake in 2008
• The disaster left nearly five million people homeless and roughly 80% of local buildings were destroyed
• Rebuild efforts were then put back in 2011 when heavy rainfall and a landslide destroyed many new homes
• Now, the local government have built a total of 22 sustainable houses with farms on the rooftops

By Ted Thornhill and James Draper For Mailonline

PUBLISHED: 09:20 EDT, 31 October 2017

It was devastated by the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.

But now China's Jintai Village, in the Sichuan Province, is rebuilding itself in an ingenious way - thanks to a new development of sustainable houses with roof farms.

More than 22 cutting-edge properties have been erected in the afflicted area, which allow residents to grow their own food and rear animals for continuous, greener living in an environment where there is little space for house building.

New vision: The collection of houses in China's Jintai Village, Sichuan Province, where sustainable houses have roof farms

Green fingers: More than 22 cutting-edge properties have recently been erected in the afflicted area

Do it yourself: Fruit and vegetables can be seen growing atop a roof farm, where the community can cultivate fresh food

Clever: The conception actively affords people the opportunity to grow food, while the design incorporates rainwater harvesting, natural light and ventilation for maximum productivity

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New generation housing: Experts at the University of Hong Kong, led by design experts John Lin and Joshua Bolchove, devised a way for people to live in homes that had functionality as well as strength

Designed by the Rural Urban Framework, it's funded by both local government and NGOs in response to the natural disaster, which left nearly five million people homeless when it struck nine years ago.

 

It's estimated that 80 per cent of all buildings in the affected area were destroyed.

Then, in July 2011, heavy rainfall and landslides obliterated five years of reconstruction efforts.

So experts at the University of Hong Kong, led by design experts John Lin and Joshua Bolchove, conceived a way for people to live in homes that had functionality as well as strength. 

Impressive: The village homes are flanked by a stunning mountain view, which is accentuated by the clouds

Rebuilt: Jintai Village was badly affected by the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, then again by landslides in 2011

This stunning aerial view shows how the village is eye-catchingly stacked in tiers

Struggle: The disaster left nearly five million people homeless and roughly 80 per cent of local buildings were destroyed

Connected: Each upper storey is cantilevered over a sheltered porch, which encourages people to sit outside and sell their products or interact with their neighbours

n addition to the green space on the top of building, which affords people the opportunity to grow food and rear animals such as pigs and chickens, it also incorporates rainwater harvesting, natural light and ventilation for maximum productivity. 

Built along narrow streets, the design strategy provides four different types of houses, varying in size, function and roof sections.

Each upper storey is cantilevered over a sheltered porch, which encourages people to sit outside and sell their products or interact with their neighbours. 

Meanwhile, open spaces on the ground level allow for individual family-owned workshops. 

Rural Urban Framework said: 'This project demonstrates a socially and environmentally sustainable model for earthquake reconstruction while examining the many nuances of reconstructing a community.

'This is an investigation into modern rural livelihood. With tens of thousands of newly planned villages occurring in China today, the challenge is to plan villages as authentic places whereby the spatial organization and physical expression is derived directly from its relationship to its natural environment.'