LUO studio builds a pergola of materials left over from dimolished houses

located in longquanguan town, fuping county, hebei, china, luotuowan village borders shanxi province at the foot of the north side of taihang mountains. surrounding mountains cause problems with transportation to the village, which holds back the place’s economic development and increases the number of dilapidated houses. in recent years, however, the local government has allocated plenty of financial and material resources to renovate and construct houses in the village and help shake off poverty. luo studio has designed a sculptural pergola for the locals made of the leftover materials of the demolition.

kids playing under the pergola
all photos by jin weiqi

before the renovation, villagers were allowed to choose a traditional wooden roof or roof made of cast-in-situ concrete for the house. during the village revamping process, a large number of wooden beams and rafters were dismantled and left over. previously, the wood waste had been used to make a fire for heating and cooking. but in these days, due to the call for ecological environment protection and forest fire prevention as well as the fact that air source heat pumps and gas equipment for cooking were introduced into the village, the dismantled woods of various sizes were left unused.

kids skipping ropes under the pergola

the village was built through reclamation of mountain and wasteland, so there were many slope protection structures and scarps. villagers intended to have a shade pergola over a long scarp with cement column piers along both sides, for them to have a rest in the shade. according to the original plan, heavy square steel bars and large timbers were identified as main construction materials, which needed to be purchased and transported from the faraway county or city markets and required a professional construction team and utilization of crane. and a flat area at the site was too narrow to operate heavy machinery, which meant it was dangerous for people and livestock once accidents occurred. when the designed team happened to see the drawings of this project, they suggested to work out a simpler and more convenient solution for construction.

locals walk under the pergola

materials for construction units were designed as small as possible, so that more wood waste could be reused and the construction work could be carried out by the villagers themselves. wooden rod units constitute the structural system, which enhances stability and obtains a larger space. the structure features grids that improve its performance in withstanding forces of nature, hence ensuring greater safety for a long period of use. with such construction scheme, the architects cut costs and improved efficiency.

pergola interiors