as small as a world and as large as alone

8:00pm March 31, 2012

latimes:

In China, millions make themselves at home in caves: Some are basic, others beautiful, with high ceilings and nice yards. “Life is easy and comfortable here,” one cave dweller says.

In recent years, architects have been reappraising the cave in environmental terms, and they like what they see.

“It is energy efficient. The farmers can save their arable land for planting if they build their houses in the slope. It doesn’t take much money or skill to build,” said Liu Jiaping, director of the Green Architecture Research Center in Xian and perhaps the leading expert on cave living. “Then again, it doesn’t suit modern complicated lifestyles very well. People want to have a fridge, washing machine, television.”

Liu helped design and develop a modernized version of traditional cave dwellings that in 2006 was a finalist for a World Habitat Award, sponsored by a British foundation dedicated to sustainable housing. The updated cave dwellings are built against the cliff in two levels, with openings over the archways for light and ventilation. Each family has four chambers, two on each level.

Photo: Ma Liangshui, 76, has lived in caves around Yanan his entire life. Credit: Barbara Demick / Los Angeles Times

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