Name: Xiangyong He

Country: China

Course/Program: MA Adaptive Reuse

Current Project in MSA:
I am currently working on the adaptive reuse design of a 1970s coal mine factory site. The factory is located in Xinjiang, China, and like many former industrial sites, it is situated in an area that lacks vibrancy due to its proximity to old residential buildings and outdated amenities, in stark contrast to the booming new city centre area. My goal was to revitalise the industrial area, address the infrastructure and commercial gaps while commemorating the coal mining culture and creating a link to the city centre area.

Software + Other Skills:
Sketchup, Rhino, photoshop, AutoCAD, Enscape.

Short Introduction:
I have three years of experience working in architectural design, with exposure to projects with a focus on commercial buildings. I enjoy sports, love drawing and enjoy meeting new friends.

DAY 2 –Visiting the Site

For the second day, we started off the morning by continuing off with our research efforts from the first day. We presented our findings and learnings to one another and explored precedents and ideas that could be relevant for Wildbrook. In the afternoon, we visited Wildbrook with the whole team for the first time, seeing it in its fully green and blooming state! Our clients, Dave and Lina, toured around the growing hub, explained to us what has been done, what has been updated since last time, and what they are hoping to do in the future. We discussed challenges in terms of irrigating the different growing and production areas, as well as identifying how we can design water collection and redistribution programmes that are flexible and adaptable for future developments and expansion.

DAY 2 –Volunteering

Composting

Whilst on our site visit, Lina – one of our collaborators from Local Food First – guided us through a composting discussion, explaining the five ‘ingredients’ required to create a good compost; Nitrogen, Carbon, Water, Oxygen and Heat. Following the talk, Lina formed a smaller group to take on a Practical Composting Tutorial, creating large cubes of compostable materials constructed from pallets and any food waste or organic materials sourced from the local community and the surrounding area. Getting to be really hands on and jumping on the cubes to compress them as tightly as possible to ensure good compost production.

Planting Seedlings

Another task whilst on the visit was to assist in planting seedlings. The seedlings had been ordered so that they could be grown and cared for onsite and then sold to the local community. Planting the seedlings of many types of flowers, a team was assigned to fill the plant pots with soil, grinding down the larger lumps first. Then sectioning and potting the seedlings into groups or individually into the pots, making sure they are secure within their new homes.

Watering

The final task assigned whilst on our visit was to water all the planting inside of the polytunnels. Observing the challenges of transporting the water across the length of the polytunnels. Due to the dry, hot weather, a high volume of water was needed and so we used hoses and watering cans to ensure that all the plants were thoroughly watered.

DAY 9
We completed all the presentations by refining the final text in the Indesign document, and in the afternoon we had a visit from the client to present all the results of our research during this period, and together we discussed the possibilities for the subsequent construction of the farm, and the client was very satisfied with our work.