{"id":421905,"date":"2025-09-13T20:01:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T20:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/421905\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T20:01:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T20:01:20","slug":"to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/421905\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;To Emerge Naturally from the Site&#8221;: Zhang Pengju on His Aga Khan Award-Winning West Wusutu Village"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"js-image-size__link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\/68be8cf5fafaa90180e9b638-to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-photo\" rel=\"attachment noopener\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 100%;\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&quot;To Emerge Naturally from the Site&quot;: Zhang Pengju on His Aga Khan Award-Winning West Wusutu Village - Image 1 of 34\" data-nr-picture-id=\"68be8cf5fafaa90180e9b638\" fetchpriority=\"high\" height=\"479\" itemprop=\"image\" loading=\"eager\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\/68be8cf5fafaa90180e9b638-to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-photo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/an-exclusive-interview-with-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-community.jpeg\" style=\"min-height: var(--featured-height, auto); aspect-ratio: auto 640 \/ 479\" width=\"640\"\/><\/a>West Wusutu Village Community Center \/ Zhang Pengju. Image \u00a9 Dou Yujun<\/p>\n<p>    Share<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<ul class=\"afd-share__networks clearfix\">\n<li class=\"afd-share__social\"><a aria-label=\"Facebook\" class=\"afd-share__button\" data-insights-category=\"share\" data-insights-label=\"facebook_sharing_options\" data-insights-value=\"1033902\" data-social=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a>\n<p>Facebook<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"afd-share__social\"><a aria-label=\"Twitter\" class=\"afd-share__button\" data-insights-category=\"share\" data-insights-label=\"twitter_sharing_options\" data-insights-value=\"1033902\" data-social=\"twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=%22To%20Emerge%20Naturally%20from%20the%20Site%22%3A%20Zhang%20Pengju%20on%20His%20Aga%20Khan%20Award-Winning%20West%20Wusutu%20Village&amp;url=https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village&amp;via=archdaily\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a>\n<p>Twitter<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"afd-share__social\"><a class=\"afd-share__button\" data-insights-category=\"share\" data-insights-label=\"email_sharing_options\" data-insights-value=\"1033902\" data-social=\"email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=&quot;To Emerge Naturally from the Site&quot;: Zhang Pengju on His Aga Khan Award-Winning West Wusutu Village&amp;body=https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\"><\/a>\n<p>Mail<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"afd-share__social\"><a aria-label=\"Pinterest\" class=\"afd-share__button\" data-insights-category=\"share\" data-insights-label=\"pinterest_sharing_options\" data-insights-value=\"1033902\" data-social=\"pinterest\" href=\"https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.archdaily.com%2F1033902%2Fto-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village&amp;media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.adsttc.com%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F68be%2F8cf5%2Ffafa%2Fa901%2F80e9%2Fb638%2Flarge_jpg%2Fan-exclusive-interview-with-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-community-centre_2.jpg%3F1757318420&amp;description=%22To%20Emerge%20Naturally%20from%20the%20Site%22%3A%20Zhang%20Pengju%20on%20His%20Aga%20Khan%20Award-Winning%20West%20Wusutu%20Village\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a>\n<p>Pinterest<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"afd-share__social\"><a aria-label=\"Whatsapp\" class=\"afd-share__button\" data-action=\"share\/whatsapp\/share\" data-insights-category=\"share\" data-insights-label=\"whatsapp_sharing_options\" data-insights-value=\"1033902\" data-social=\"whatsapp\" href=\"whatsapp:\/\/send?text=%22To+Emerge+Naturally+from+the+Site%22%3A+Zhang+Pengju+on+His+Aga+Khan+Award-Winning+West+Wusutu+Village+%7C+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.archdaily.com%2F1033902%2Fto-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village%3Futm_source%3DWhatsapp%26utm_medium%3DIM%26utm_campaign%3Dshare-button\" rel=\"nofollow\"><\/a>\n<p>Whatsapp<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Or<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033690\/aga-khan-award-for-architecture-announces-2025-winners\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2025 Aga Khan Award for Architecture<\/a>, one of the most prestigious honors in the field, celebrates projects that not only exhibit architectural excellence but also profoundly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033673\/our-message-this-time-was-optimism-in-conversation-with-farrokh-derakhshani-director-of-the-aga-khan-award-for-architecture\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">improve the quality of life for their communities<\/a>. Among this year&#8217;s winners is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033160\/west-wusutu-village-community-centre-zhang-pengju?ad_source=search&amp;ad_medium=projects_tab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">West Wusutu Village Community Centre<\/a>, a project in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/tag\/hohhot\/page\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hohhot<\/a>, Inner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/country\/mongolia\/page\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mongolia<\/a>, by Chinese architect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/office\/zhang-pengju?ad_name=project-specs&amp;ad_medium=single\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zhang Pengju<\/a>. In an era when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/tag\/rural-architecture\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rural areas<\/a> often face social fragmentation and a loss of identity, this community center offers a powerful counter-narrative. <\/p>\n<p>In recognizing this project, the award jury praised its ability to intervene in a sensitive yet rational manner, using design to foster inclusivity, resilience, sustainability, and overall well-being. The design achieves these goals by rejecting rigid functional zoning. Instead, a permeable circular courtyard integrates diverse community activities, organizing circulation and connecting multiple open rooms into a cohesive whole.<\/p>\n<p class=\"thumbs afd-desktop-e clearfix\"><a class=\"thumbs__link\" data-nr-picture-id=\"68be8cc68791b741e39b8cdb\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\/68be8cc68791b741e39b8cdb-to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-photo\" rel=\"attachment noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&quot;To Emerge Naturally from the Site&quot;: Zhang Pengju on His Aga Khan Award-Winning West Wusutu Village - Image 2 of 34\" class=\"thumbs__img b-lazy\" data-nr-picture-id=\"68be8cc68791b741e39b8cdb\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757793676_426_an-exclusive-interview-with-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-community.jpeg\" height=\"125\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\/68be8cc68791b741e39b8cdb-to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-photo\" title=\"West Wusutu Village Community Center \/ Zhang Pengju. Image \u00a9 Dou Yujun\" width=\"125\"\/><\/a><a class=\"thumbs__link\" data-nr-picture-id=\"68be8cbefafaa90180e9b631\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\/68be8cbefafaa90180e9b631-to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-photo\" rel=\"attachment noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&quot;To Emerge Naturally from the Site&quot;: Zhang Pengju on His Aga Khan Award-Winning West Wusutu Village - Image 3 of 34\" class=\"thumbs__img b-lazy\" data-nr-picture-id=\"68be8cbefafaa90180e9b631\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757793677_332_an-exclusive-interview-with-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-community.jpeg\" height=\"125\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\/68be8cbefafaa90180e9b631-to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-photo\" title=\"West Wusutu Village Community Center \/ Zhang Pengju. Image \u00a9 Dou Yujun\" width=\"125\"\/><\/a><a class=\"thumbs__link\" data-nr-picture-id=\"68be8e168791b741e39b8cf8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\/68be8e168791b741e39b8cf8-to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-photo\" rel=\"attachment noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&quot;To Emerge Naturally from the Site&quot;: Zhang Pengju on His Aga Khan Award-Winning West Wusutu Village - Image 4 of 34\" class=\"thumbs__img b-lazy\" data-nr-picture-id=\"68be8e168791b741e39b8cf8\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757793677_82_an-exclusive-interview-with-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-community.jpeg\" height=\"125\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\/68be8e168791b741e39b8cf8-to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-photo\" title=\"West Wusutu Village Community Center \/ Zhang Pengju. Image \u00a9 Dou Yujun\" width=\"125\"\/><\/a><a class=\"thumbs__link\" data-nr-picture-id=\"68be8cfc8791b741e39b8ce6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\/68be8cfc8791b741e39b8ce6-to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-photo\" rel=\"attachment noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"&quot;To Emerge Naturally from the Site&quot;: Zhang Pengju on His Aga Khan Award-Winning West Wusutu Village - Image 5 of 34\" class=\"thumbs__img b-lazy\" data-nr-picture-id=\"68be8cfc8791b741e39b8ce6\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757793677_208_an-exclusive-interview-with-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-community.jpeg\" height=\"125\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\/68be8cfc8791b741e39b8ce6-to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-photo\" title=\"West Wusutu Village Community Center \/ Zhang Pengju. Image \u00a9 Dou Yujun\" width=\"125\"\/><\/a><a class=\"gallery-link afd-desktop-e\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1033902\/to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village\/68be8cf5fafaa90180e9b638-to-emerge-naturally-from-the-site-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-photo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"To Emerge Naturally from the Site: Zhang Pengju on His Aga Khan Award-Winning West Wusutu Village - More Images\" class=\"thumbs__img b-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/an-exclusive-interview-with-zhang-pengju-on-his-aga-khan-award-winning-west-wusutu-village-community.jpeg\" itemprop=\"image\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAUEBAAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=\"\/>+ 29<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/loader-blue.gif\" alt=\"Content Loader\" style=\"width: 40px; margin: 24px;\"\/><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"West Wusutu Village Community Center \/ Zhang Pengju. Image \u00a9 Dou Yujun Share Share Facebook Twitter Mail Pinterest&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":421906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[144264,135665,95148,95149,4023,111067,4021,4020,1395,138331,4022,77,144265,122384,32215,462,67083,144266,111066,19862,106125,21921,144263,16,15,17335,135669],"class_list":{"0":"post-421905","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-aga-khan","9":"tag-aga-khan-award-for-architecture","10":"tag-archdaily-interview","11":"tag-archdaily-interviews","12":"tag-architecture","13":"tag-architecture-competitions","14":"tag-arts","15":"tag-arts-and-design","16":"tag-china","17":"tag-community-center","18":"tag-design","19":"tag-entertainment","20":"tag-hohhot","21":"tag-inclusive-design","22":"tag-inner-mongolia","23":"tag-interview","24":"tag-local-materials","25":"tag-material-ecology","26":"tag-mongolia","27":"tag-qa","28":"tag-rural-architecture","29":"tag-sustainable-architecture","30":"tag-the-2025-aga-khan-award-for-architecture","31":"tag-uk","32":"tag-united-kingdom","33":"tag-winners","34":"tag-zhang-pengju"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=421905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/421906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=421905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=421905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=421905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}