Rural Urban Framework is a research and design lab based at The University of Hong Kong. In 2018 summer it ran a design-build workshop in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. 

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60% of the city’s population live in the ger districts - sprawling settlements of traditional felt tents or gers and self-build single-story houses. These districts lack basic urban services: running water, sewaging, and central heating. They also have limited community or social infrastructure. As these areas grow over time and nomads become permanent city dwellers, these districts need spaces for neighborhood gatherings, social events, kindergartens and after-school clubs.

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Over the course of five weeks, the parties worked in collaboratively to tackle real-world issues to design and built a new space for community interaction in the ger districts.  They engaged with local residents, experience the limitations of the site and be directly involved in the design and construction process.  Each participant gained knowledge about design and construction and directly engaged with less privileged communities in urban-rural areas.  There is also an opportunity to revisit the built project and witness how it has impacting change.  

 

The project is funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club as part of a Knowledge Exchange project to foster collaboration between students from HKU and students from other vocational schools in Hong Kong. For this workshop HKU collaborates with HKU SPACE and Ger Hub and EcoTown in Mongolia.