Unveiling Lost Identities
Investigating Migration Problems in Chinese Architecture and Culture
Bachelor of Architecture Thesis Project
During China’s rapid urbanization, millions of rural villagers migrated into cities while leaving their children behind in the villages. The separation from parents causes many left-behind children to display characteristics that include loneliness, misconduct, and no confidence.
In Zhaoxing village, with the development of tourism, local inhabitants have returned to work in their hometowns. Although the number of left-behind children has been declining in recent years, the village is faced with the lack and indifference of traditional cultural education. The sense of identity and belonging of the ethnic has gradually declined, and the inheritance of unique ethnic culture is also fractured.
The problem of left-behind children is a policy issue, but the underlying reason is the impact of modern civilization on traditional culture, which makes the local identities be rejected. The design aims to provide children with a warm place, help them regain the lost identities, and give them a sense of belonging to the culture through a new expression about the local architectural structure.