Tian Yang 杨恬

Tian is an architectural designer who passionately explores the relationship between architecture, space, and people, focusing on micro-narratives and community communication. Through various mediums, Tian delves into the intricate connections between these elements, recognising the immense value and significance of even the most minor stories.

Tian completed their undergraduate studies in architecture at the University of Liverpool and has gained experience in all aspects of architectural practice, including pre-design, mid-construction, and post-project management.

Tian researched the profound impact of gentrification and urbanisation during their studies at RCA. Their exploration initially centred on migrant workers, shedding light on the often-overlooked narratives of this marginalised group. In their second-year project, Tian shifted their attention to rural inhabitants and settlements, emphasising the importance of understanding and supporting these communities within the broader framework of urban narratives. Tian's goal is to empower architects to champion and nurture these micro-narratives within the context of macro-narratives, contributing to the transformative potential of architecture in society.

The project's strategy is "The Flower, Route, Shelter".

The flower means the inhabitants who live here, their way of life, daily practices, and rituals handed down from generation to generation. This part reintroduces local land/earth practices. The route means the connection between the inhabitant, the settlement and the land. Use these traditional land practices/rituals to create relationships across the landscape and villages the rail line divides. And Shelter, as my design intervention, is a roof, but not just a simple "roof". Its ambition is to conserve the inhabitants and settlements and recreate a connection between them, the settlements, the landscape, and the earth. Thus, I would like to define it as "Shelter". The Shelter provides the infrastructure for these land practices.

To converse and support this land and the inhabitants and settlements it sustains, the design intervention will be carried out with a roof. The roof acts as a symbol to physically connect the scattered village houses, forming a cluster, a group, and a solid collective way to resist the invasion of the high-speed railway. It is also a protective shell that protects the inhabitants and the settlement, forming a closer community space and leading the villagers to become more involved in collectivism. The roof acts as a marker, including a communal space that strengthens the connection between the inhabitants and creates a space for self-identification. At the same time, the roof, as a functional material, is made of typology materials such as wood and tiles that fit the original materials of the site, and these materials also act as a barrier against noise and overhead objects from the high-speed railway. In addition, the roof also serves as a framework to support the reshaping of the landscape with its structure.

Proposing to create a path through the roof form, the Shelter that connects the inhabitants, the village and the land. I favoured making an area of opportunity where any practice, whatever can happen, is at the inhabitants' discretion. Moreover, animals are also essential to the rural population and the village. They are also residents here. Thus also want to bring them into the space.

Cosmogram – The Soil Hosts The Infrastructure System And Life (Above And Below Ground).

This land is the project's site, in northern Shaanxi, on the Loess Plateau. The Loess Plateau is a plateau in central China formed by loess accumulation. The loess was loose and fertile, fine and sticky, making it easy to cultivate, so it was once a densely wooded and pleasant environment. From about 221 to 207 B.C., the farming culture of the Middle Kingdom began. It was the ancient 'capital' and the 'granary' of the country, responsible for almost 80% of the population's food needs. As a result, due to long over-farming periods and climate change effects, soil fertility declined, surface vegetation cover was reduced, and soil erosion became severe. The Loess Plateau has eventually developed into the image of a thousand ravines that it is today. But it is also because of this that the people of this land are particularly attached to it. Because of the relative lack of material conditions and the relative complexity of their geographical location (highland ravines), the people here are so dependent on the land that it has implicitly become part of their lives, and it is not too much to say that they "live off the land". They depend on the land for their food and the construction of their houses, and even after their death, they want to be buried in the ground so that they "come from the earth and will return to it".

The Cosmogram explains all the practices on this land, including the cycle of life above ground and the process of stasis below.

Medium:

Image

illustration mapping

Chapter 1. Flower

The flower means the inhabitants who live here, their way of life, their daily practices, and their rituals handed down from generation to generation.

This part reintroduces local land/earth practices.

Earthly Outcome-Millet

Earthly Outcome-Cave dwelling

Earthly Outcome-Afforestation

Earthly Outcome-Earthware

Earthly Practice-Cultivation Earthly Practice & Produce Food Earthly Practice & Funeral

Medium:

Images

collage hand-drawn illustration

Site Location Plan – But there is much more to this land than 'trials and tribulations'. Many traditional villages have been abandoned, and communities have been forced to relocate to new, modern cities as a result of the government's policy of rural urbanisation. Conventional ways of life and landscape preservation are gradually disappearing in the idealised vision of contemporary life. As a result of urbanisation and gentrification, many of the original villages and their cultures are vanishing.

Government Policies Map – The government policy is considering the construction of transport and railways as a matter of national. The project site is located in central China and needs to be connected to a well-connected transport network to support urbanisation, hence the need for a new high-speed rail line on the project site.

Regional Government Map – The regional government has responded to the call of national policy by supporting the construction of high-speed rail routes and building new equipment plants along the streets. It also takes full advantage of the railway traffic to build logistics warehouses and develop the local economy. However, at the same time, the area along the high-speed rail line will also involve land relocation and demolition works, and the location (village) where the project site is located will include relocation.

Private Investors Map – The local government buys, sells and transfers the relocated land to develop the economy. Private investors are actively developing real estate and commercial facilities.

Local People Map – The project site is a village with a population of fewer than 800 people, and the local people see the land in a traditional way of life and earthly practices where they have lived for generations. However, the high-speed railway construction will involve demolition and relocation, inevitably obstructing the old way of life.

The Jurisdictions Overlap Map – This is jurisdictions overlap to demonstrate how the claims of different perspectives in 4 overlap and intertwine.

Inhabitants Migration Map – In the context of urbanisation and gentrification, many rural people migrate for better education, health care, jobs or life opportunities.

Medium:

Images

collage illustration mapping

Chapter 2. Route

The route means the connection between the habitant, the settlement and the earth.

Use these traditional land practices/rituals to create connections across the landscape and villages which the rail line divide.

Traditional Funeral Process Diagram – This is a flow chart showing the process of a traditional funeral. It is also an example of a route. That shows how every process, every moment of this practice, is in contact with the land. The inhabitants and the practice of moving through the land.

Villages And Railway Intersection Route Map – This is a perspective drawing combined with a rail section. Shows the elevated railway and the villages around the town centre. You can see in this profile section that there are two types of affected settlement forms, one located underneath the viaduct and the other above. The elevated railway intervenes in this area brutally and forcibly, in the most 'rapid' and 'economical' way.

Medium:

Images

diagram mapping

Chapter 3. Shelter

My design intervention is a roof, not just a simple "roof". It can conserve the inhabitants and settlements and recreate a connection between inhabitants and settlements and landscape and earth. Thus, I would like to define it as "Shelter".

The shelter provides the infrastructure for these land practices.

2 conditions:

- Ground level condition

- Over ground condition

Ground Level Condition - Ground Floor Plan 1:1000 (In Original A2 Size)

Ground Level Condition - Roof Plan 1:1000 (In Original A2 Size)

Ground Level Condition - Elevation A-A' 1:500 (In Original A2 Size)

Over Ground Condition - Ground Floor Plan 1:1000 (In Original A2 Size)

Over Ground Condition - Roof Plan 1:1000 (In Original A2 Size)

Over Ground Condition - Elevation C-C' 1:500 (In Original A2 Size)

Medium:

Images

Ground Level Condition - Section B-B' 1:1000 (In Original A2 Size)

Over Ground Condition - Section D-D' 1:1000 (In Original A2 Size)

Ground Level Condition - "A Corner Under The Viaduct - Collective Work And Rest Under The Roof"

Over Ground Condition - "Enjoy The Evening By Shuttling Between The Two Platforms Under The Roof"

Ground Level Condition - "With A Funeral Happens" OR "Without A Funeral Happens"

Over Ground Condition - "The horses are grazing, the neighbours are planting, and I'm burying "mud" under a tree"

Medium:

Images

collage hand-drawn

Confessions of the Land: I come from the waters and winds of nature. The water carries me to flow, and the wind takes me to fly. With my life, I nurture the practices and lives that grow above me, whether it is a flower, tree, lamb, chick, or village.

Confessions of the Flower: I was born on the earth. The earth nurtures me; she nourishes me to germinate, blossom, and decorate the land until I finally fade into the world to help another seed grow, flower, and illustrate the ground.

Confessions of the Route: I may seem uninteresting, just a path. But I am the beacon that leads the flower forward, and she will follow me, blossoming in the land and then in the long sleep of the earth. I am a guide, a side, a painted voice.

Confessions of the Shelter: I am an outsider. I have a will of steel and a considerable body. I squat carefully, cupping the land here, blowing away the dirt floating on it and holding an umbrella for her. I wish she could stay and great.

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Text

poetic poetry words

Tian Yang 杨恬

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Royal College of Art