The Big Build

The Big Build is a six-week Design-Build studio that engages students, architects, amateurs, professionals, artisans, and villagers, both local and foreign, in the process of discovering the spirit of the contemporary countryside. The studio addresses the problem that not only China is facing as we see the increasing destruction and exploitation of rural communities and culture. Sited in Hangzhou, China, The Big Build was created by American Desmond Loren DeLanty, founder of the architecture and research firm Hangzhou Art & Design Collaborative (HADC). Using Design-Build as a means of pedagogy, practice, and production, the scope of Design-Build is as much designing and building as it is research.