The earthquake that shook Wenchuan County on 12 May 2008 left over five million people homeless, and in many places it destroyed up to 80% of the buildings. One was Jintai, where the destruction wrought by seismic movements was exacerbated by the floods of July 2011. The local government and several NGOs set about reconstructing the village, and among the projects carried out is this group of 22 houses arranged around a community center.

The design draws inspiration from typological and constructional variants of traditional Chinese architecture, although it has also incorporated strategies based on the application of contemporary technologies. For example, the houses are built with walls of unfaced brick but are served by a sophisticated biogas network. Nevertheless, the complex’s most prominent features are the green roofs that crown a series of inner ventilation courtyards, and double as spontaneous domestic food gardens.