未来地下住宅丨中国河南

季节性生活

Seasonal Life

位于中国中北部黄土高原的地下窑洞住宅，即“地坑院”，体现了在一个历史上缺乏木材及其他常规建筑材料的地区，人们对居住问题的巧妙回应。自古以来，人们直接在土中开挖房屋：通常先挖掘一个约 8 × 10 米、深约六米的矩形庭院，然后在黄土墙体两侧雕刻出一系列拱形房间。这种简约而空间感丰富的形式既延续了中国人对庭院生活的偏爱，又将尽可能多的地上土地保留用于耕作——实现了地下居住与地上耕作之间的优雅平衡。

Located on the Loess Plateau in north-central China, the underground cave dwellings, ordikengyuan, represent an ingenious response to inhabitation in a region historically devoid of timber and other conventional building materials. Since ancient times, houses have been dug directly into the earth: typically, an 8 × 10 meter rectangular courtyard is excavated approximately six meters deep, from which a series of arched rooms are carved laterally into the loess walls. This simple yet spatially sophisticated form maintains the Chinese affinity for courtyard living while leaving the maximum possible amount of land above ground for agriculture – an elegant symmetry between living below and working above.

▼场地与周围环境鸟瞰，aerial view of the site© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

随着时间推移，黄土高原的景观逐渐形成了多层次格局：地下住宅与地面上的混凝土和砖结构住宅、学校及工厂共存。许多家庭，即使建造了地上房屋，也仍会在季节性地继续居住在地下住宅中，夏季享受土体的凉爽，冬季利用其热质量保温。这反映了一种以生活方式适应而非单纯技术优化为基础的可持续模式。地下住宅是一个灵活的居住体系，能够应对季节、社会与环境的变化。

Over time, the landscape of the Loess Plateau has evolved into a layered condition in which underground houses coexist with concrete and brick dwellings, schools, and factories built above ground. Many families, even those who have built houses aboveground, continue to occupy their underground houses seasonally, benefiting from the earth’s thermal mass in both summer and winter. This reflects a model of sustainability grounded in lifestyle adaptation rather than technological optimization alone. The underground house is part of a flexible system of inhabitation that responds to seasonal, social, and environmental conditions.

▼地下住宅顶视图，top view of the project© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

气候不稳定与适应需求

Climate instability and the need to evolve

这种长期平衡因气候变化而逐渐被打破。2021年，该地区遭遇自1954年以来最强降雨，超过了原本在稳定气候下设计的排水系统承载能力。广泛的洪涝导致结构墙倒塌，地下住宅出现前所未有的废弃潮。

This long-standing equilibrium has been increasingly destabilized by climate change. In 2021, the region experienced its heaviest rainfall since 1954, overwhelming drainage systems developed under historically stable climatic conditions. Widespread flooding led to structural walls collapsing, and unprecedented abandonment of underground houses.

▼场地原状，original state of the site© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

地坑院首次进入全球建筑视野源于1933年一位汉莎航空飞行员拍摄的航空照片，后由Bernard Rudofsky在“无建筑师的建筑”展览中推广。如今，公众关注的焦点已转向地坑院民俗文化公园——一个主题公园复制品吸引了游客，而附近仍有人居住的地下村落在经济上被边缘化，1933年的照片被安置在公园入口，讽刺地提醒着原始村落的存在。社交媒体的传播加剧了这种不平衡，强化了新公园的重要性，却未将经济利益回流至原始村落。旅游资源几乎没有惠及普通居民的日常生活。

The dikengyuan entered global architectural consciousness through a 1933 aerial photograph taken by a Lufthansa pilot and later popularized by Bernard Rudofsky in the exhibition “Architecture Without Architects”. Today, however, public attention is redirected to the Dikengyuan Folk - Custom Cultural Park – a theme - park replica that absorbs tourism, while the nearby inhabited underground village remains economically excluded, with the 1933 photo placed at the entrance at the park – an ironic reminder to the original village. This imbalance is intensified by social media platforms, that amplify the importance of places such as the new park, without redistributing this economic benefit to the original village. Tourism, quite literally, does not reach where everyday people live.

▼地坑院历史照片与项目轴测图，historical photo of the diagram of the project© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

朱小姐 Miss Zhu

针对重叠的环境、社会和经济压力，三位建筑教授（John Lin、Olivier Ottevaere 和 Lidia Ratoi）及香港大学的学生，与明德项目基金会和河南省张边乡政府合作，受邀研究地下住宅作为生活文化体系的未来。在最初调查时，该地区超过80%的地下住宅仍有人居住。然而，2021年的特大暴雨几乎摧毁了所有房屋，促使团队重新评估这一类型住宅如何适应新的环境现实。项目的核心成员之一是朱小姐——一位地下住宅业主，同时也是当地网络红人，通过社交媒体记录地下日常生活。团队与她共同得出的结论是：项目将从私人住宅转变为社区空间，从而在村落内创造经济价值的焦点。

© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

In response to these overlapping environmental, social, and economic pressures, three architecture professors (John Lin, Olivier Ottevaere and Lidia Ratoi) and their students from the University of Hong Kong, together with the Mingde Project Foundation and the local government of Zhangbian Township in Henan Province, were invited to examine the future of underground houses as a living cultural system. At the time of the initial survey, more than 80 percent of underground houses in the area were still occupied. Following the unprecedented rainfall of 2021, however, nearly all were damaged, prompting a reassessment of how this typology might adapt to new environmental realities. A key member of the project was Miss Zhu – the owner of one such underground house, but also a local influencer who uses social media to document everyday underground life. The conclusion the team reached together with her was that the project will transform from a private home to a community space, therefore creating focal point for generating economic value in the village.

▼活动场景，event scenario© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

参与式流程

Participatory processes

讨论的核心在于：地下住宅如何在应对气候不稳定的同时继续服务当代社区需求，以及建筑介入如何解决技术局限，同时从村落内部产生社会和经济价值。主要考虑包括：保护受损结构、通过改进土建技术、排水与通风系统升级环境和结构性能，以及重新组织空间以适应新的公共用途。通过与村民和学生共同开发功能需求，住宅将改造为可举办婚礼、葬礼及其他集体仪式的空间——这些功能是新建地上住宅无法承载的。

▼轴测图，axonometric drawing© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

Central to the discussion was how underground houses could continue to serve contemporary community needs while addressing climate instability, and how architectural intervention might resolve technical limitations while generating social and economic value from within the village itself. Preserving damaged structures, upgrading environmental and structural performance through improved earth-building techniques, drainage, and ventilation systems, and transforming spatial organization to accommodate new public uses were the main considerations. As a result of working together with villagers and students in developing the programmatic brief, the house was to be transformed into a space hosting weddings, funerals, and other collective rituals—functions that newer above-ground houses could no longer accommodate.

▼夜景鸟瞰，aerial view of the house© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼夜景，night view© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

项目的核心是庭院，被改造为集会、仪式和共享使用的露天剧场。传统上，地下住宅通过夯土引导雨水进入单一排水坑，在稳定气候下有效，但面对极端降雨时难以承载。对此，庭院被重新规划为阶梯式、机器人3D打印的露天剧场，兼作座位、通道和社会基础设施。新的周边排水沟将多余雨水引入地下储水系统以备再利用，种植台阶吸收雨水并支持食物生产，重新诠释的土窑也被整合入结构中。

At the center of the project is the courtyard, transformed into an amphitheater for gathering, ritual, and shared use. Traditionally, underground houses managed rainwater by tamping soil to direct runoff into a single drainage pit, an approach effective under stable climatic conditions but increasingly overwhelmed by extreme rainfall. In response, the courtyard is reconfigured as a stepped, robotically 3D-printed amphitheater that functions as seating, circulation, social infrastructure. A new perimeter drainage channel directs excess runoff into underground storage for reuse, while planted terraces absorb rainwater and support food production, and a reinterpreted earthen kiln is integrated into the structure.

▼庭院鸟瞰，aerial view of the courtyard© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼庭院，the courtyard© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼集会、仪式和共享使用的露天剧场，amphitheater for gathering, ritual, and shared use © John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼机器人3D打印的阶梯式结构，the stepped structure printed by robots using 3D technology © John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼机器人3D打印的阶梯式结构细部，details of the stepped structure printed by robots using 3D technology © John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

公共空间延续了当地建筑传统，而非取而代之。现有土窑通过砖拱结构加固，提高耐久性，同时保持热容量。施工依赖传统技艺的适应性，当地工匠仅使用弯曲竹枝和绳索即可建造复杂砖拱。新增庭院、天窗和后侧开口引入地下光线与通风，将历史上受限的光与空气转化为全新的空间体验。

The public rooms extend local construction traditions rather than replacing them. Existing earth caves are reinforced with vaulted brick structures, improving durability while preserving thermal mass. Construction relied on adaptations of traditional techniques, in which local craftspeople can build complex brick vaults using only a simple curved bamboo branch and string. New courtyards, skylights, and rear openings introduce daylight and cross-ventilation deep underground, transforming light and air—historically constrained elements—into new and surprising spatial experiences.

▼地下部分，the underground interior part© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼砖材垒砌的拱形空间，arched space constructed with bricks© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼细部近景，closer view of the structure© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼天井，the patio© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

庭院上方悬挂轻质拉索膜，为庭院提供遮阳而不封闭空间——通过拉伸和压缩的物理过程形成，并在现场模型中测试。这种半透明材质营造出光影变化的效果，使庭院成为亮丽的公共活动空间——在室内与室外之间形成一处互动空间。策略性开口遵循风水原则，使每栋地下住宅均能种植一棵树——原树因洪灾丧失，新树通过起重机置入庭院，恢复洪水期间丧失的植被，重建庭院景观的文化与生态功能。

A lightweight tensile canopy is suspended above the courtyard, providing sun shading without enclosure – it was formed through a physical process of tension and compression, tested through on-site mock-ups as part of a design-build workshop. The translucent fabric creates a pattern of shifting light and shadow, transforming the courtyard into a luminous space for communal events—framing a room between inside and outside. Strategic opening allow that, according to feng shui principles, every underground house should host a tree – as the original was lost, a new one was lowered into the courtyard by crane, restoring vegetation lost during flooding and reestablishing the cultural and ecological role of the courtyard landscape. Working in a continuous loop between high-end digital fabrication and local craftsmen, the construction phase itself becomes a means of benefiting the village financially, generating jobs in a disincentivized place.

▼庭院上方悬挂轻质拉索膜，lightweight tensile canopy is suspended above the courtyard© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼轻质拉索膜夜景，night view of the lightweight tensile canopy © John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼轻质拉索膜夜景鸟瞰，aerial view of the lightweight tensile canopy© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼细部，details© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

古老类型的再造

Transformation of an ancient typology

哲学家许倬云提出“技术多样性”概念，反对技术普遍主义，强调技术系统的文化、道德与宇宙观特殊性。在此框架下，项目将先进技术作为工具，引入本地气候、仪式、习惯与社会实践的适配，而非提供普适解决方案——机器人制造、3D扫描和拉索模拟与地方工艺并行运作。本项目提出了一种适应性模式，使传统地下住宅在气候不稳定、乡村衰退与媒体化关注下仍能生存与发展。未来地下住宅重新诠释了地坑院这一古老类型，将其作为一个动态系统——一个始终在环境、文化与技术之间协商演化的体系。

The philosopher Yuk Hui has proposed a concept of technodiversity, which argues against technological universalism by emphasizing the cultural, moral, and cosmological specificity of technical systems. Within this framework, our project incorporates advanced technologies as tools that must be calibrated to local climates, rituals, habits, and social practices (rather than universal solutions) – with robotic fabrication, 3D scanning and tensile simulations operating alongside vernacular craftsmanship. This project proposes an adaptive model for engaging vernacular architecture under contemporary conditions of climate instability, rural decline, and media-driven visibility. The Underground House of the Future re-invents the ancient typology of the dikengyuan as a dynamic system that has always evolved through the negotiation between environment, culture, and technique.

▼建造过程，construction process© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼3D打印过程，construction process of 3D print© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼植树过程，planting process© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼顶部透视图，top perspective© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼平面图，plans© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼剖面图A-A，section A-A© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼剖面图B-B，section B-B© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

▼剖面图C-C，section C-C© John Lin + Olivier Ottevaere + Lidia Ratoi

Project Title：Underground House of the Future

Completion：November 2024

Design：

John Lin: Rooms, traditional brick masonry

Olivier Ottevaere: Roof, tensile netting

Lidia Ratoi: Courtyard, robotic 3-D printing

Professors at The University of Hong Kong

Donor / Funding Body Project Mingde Foundation

Project Lead Jenny Hsiao

Project Team Anila Ma (HKU Horizons Mingde), Wilson Wu, Hayden Ng, Jiun-Yu Chang, Yiran Liu and student volunteers from the HKU Department of Architecture, Department of Civil Engineering, and Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design

Construction：Anhai Liu with local masons and carpenters

Robotic Printing：Weiguo Xu, Tsinghua University

Additional Funding：Zhu Lin and family, Lee Hysan Foundation (student travel), Special Projects Fund , HKU Department of Architecture