Cheng Zhi Tang

This article is part of Infrastructural Urbanism , a series curated by Hidden Architecture where we explore the evolutionary potential over time of certain urban and architectural structures. The infrastructural nature of these projects allows them to accommodate and assume the uncertainty of future development as a project tool. Este articulo es parte de Urbanismo Infraestructural , serie que explora el potencial evolutivo a lo largo del tiempo de determinadas estructuras urbanas y arquitectónicas. El carácter de infraestructura de estos proyectos les permite albergar y asumir la incertidumbre de un desarrollo futuro como herramienta de proyecto. The village of Hongcun is located in south-eastern China, in the historic region of Huizhou, Anhui Province. In a natural environment dominated by the presence of Huangshan, the legendary ‘Yellow Mountains’, the human settlements that make up this area are characterised by an elegant austerity. These small villages are structured around a labyrinthine network of cobbled alleys. With a very high building density, the houses and public buildings are arranged in a continuous manner, leaving hardly any open space to accommodate different urban events. Defined by high exterior walls of brick or stone, plastered white and with hardly any openings to the outside, they delimit the linear public road with their abstract and silent presence. La aldea de Hongcun se encuentra en el sureste de China, en la histórica región de Huizhou, provincia de Anhui. En un entorno natural dominado por la presencia de Huangshan, las legendarias “Montañas Amarillas”, los asentamientos humanos que componen esta área se caracterizan por una elegante austeridad. Estos pequeños poblados se estructuran a partir de una laberíntica red de callejones empedrados.