Taiwanese architect Ying-Chun Hsieh (pronounced approximately Jing Chun Sie) born in 1954 has focused on construction in rural areas affected by natural disasters since 1999. In 2011, he received the Curry Stone Design Prize for this work, which honors pioneers in the field of social architecture and design. Hsieh has managed to combine modern lightweight structures and low construction costs with an environmentally friendly approach that also strengthens local communities. The architect is also engaged in "parasitic" and "greening" urban architecture as part of the affiliated groups WEAK! and Illegal Architecture. Architect Hsieh earned his bachelor's degree in architecture from Tamkang University in 1977 and spent the following two years working for the Taiwanese army. In 1979, he joined the team at CHEN Chi-kwan Architects, where he worked on constructions as a civil engineer; in 1984, he returned to architecture and founded HSIEH Ying-chun Architects. Between 1984 and 1999, he ran a conventional architectural practice in the city of XinZhu (Hsinchu). However, in 1999, Taiwan was hit by the second most devastating earthquake in the island's history, primarily affecting the rural county of Nantou in central Taiwan. After the earthquake, the architect decided to move with his colleagues to the countryside to one of the affected areas (Sun Moon Lake), which he managed to rebuild together with the local residents. Today, his architectural studio is still located there. The architect utilized his experience in designing constructions and began developing plans for rural houses that the residents could build themselves using lightweight steel frames and local materials. Since 2005, the architect has been collaborating on the recovery of many other affected areas in East Asia. In 2008, for example, he assisted in the construction after the earthquake in Sichuan province in central China. Hsieh worked with villagers to build over 500 houses and a number of ecological composting toilets. In 2009, he collaborated on the recovery of Taiwanese settlements after Typhoon Morakot. The architect, along with his team, helped build more than 1,000 new homes for members of a total of thirteen indigenous Taiwanese tribes. Among many other projects, one worth mentioning is from 2010 when Hsieh's team completed work on settlements for Tibetan herders. Hsieh's approach is remarkable primarily in that it offers local residents a way to build houses by themselves, allowing families, neighbors, and friends to collaborate on a single house. The construction is simple, and thanks to wooden or steel structures, the houses are safe and very flexible in their interiors. The use of additional materials and decorative elements depends on local conditions and the wishes of the residents. During construction, bricks from demolished houses, wood, stones, straw, reeds, bamboo, clay, and clay mixtures, etc., are reused. Houses built in this way are 25-60% cheaper than construction using conventional methods. Besides his main interest in the recovery of rural areas, Hsieh is also engaged in alternative urban architecture. Together with architects Ching-yueh Roan [link], Marco Casagrande [link], and sometimes Shu Wang, he forms the group WEAK! [link] and aims to incorporate natural structures into the urban environment. The most famous is the insect-inspired bamboo "Bug Dome" (2009) in Shenzhen, southern China, or the collaboration on the recovery of Treasure Hill (2003-2010) in Taipei, Taiwan. Within the framework of the group (or better the approach) Illegal Architecture (2011), Hsieh creates alternative parasitic architecture in Taipei, such as small wooden structures or steel constructions on and between existing buildings or projects for repurposing derelict buildings.
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