Sias University hosted the 9th annual Conference on Civil Architecture in Central & Western China from April 12 to 14. The academic conference was sponsored by the Union of Civil Architectural Societies in Central & Western China, in association with the Henan Society of Civil Architecture and Sias University.
The primary aim was to facilitate academic exchanges, as well as encourage cooperation, resource sharing, common development, popularizing the field of civil architecture, providing a platform for young talent, and promoting social and economic innovation and development in Central and Western China.
The conference involved a series of academic lectures and discussions based on the revitalization of rural areas and building beautiful homes and aimed to promote the National Rural Revitalization Strategy, through the advancement of civil engineering and rural environmental construction.
The chief guests were:
- the Director of the Architectural Society of China, Vice President of CITIC General Institute of Architectural Design and Research, Chairman of the Union of Civil Architectural Societies in Central & Western China, and Chairman of the Henan Society of Civil Architecture, Xiao Wei;
- Academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Dean of the Rural Resources Development Research Institute at Tongji University, and Head of the Engineering Experts Group at China Association for the Promotion of Village Development, Zhou Fengjun;
- the Chief Planning Expert of the Executive Committee on Conservation & Development of Chinese Ecology and Folk Culture, Zhang Dongshan;
- the Vice-Chairman of the Construction Branch of the Architectural Society of China, Wang Xinquan;
- Deputy Architect at the Jingchu Architectural Research Center at the Central South Architectural Design Institute, Fan Shaoming;
- the Deputy Director of the Science & Technology Office at Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Huang Wei;
- the Dean of the School of Architecture & Civil Engineering at Taiyuan University of Technology, Lei Honggang;
- the Dean of the School of Architecture at North China University Of Water Resources And Electric Power, Li Hu;
- the Director of the International Research Center for World Heritage Sites at Southwest Jiaotong University, Liu Hongtao;
- the Chief Architect of the Institute of Integrated Design at Zhengzhou University, Xu Jiqing
Over 120 experts, senior architects, and engineers from the various provinces and autonomous regions in Central and Western China were present for the Conference. The Dean of Sias' School of Architecture, Gao Qingmin, chaired the Conference.
A grand opening ceremony was held on the morning of the 13th of April. Sias President, Chen Sikun, delivered a welcome speech to the experts and scholars present from the field of civil architecture. He spoke of Sias' history and track record in producing high-quality graduates that contributed to the development of society. He said that he hoped that the Conference would also help students and academics contribute to Architectural Education in China. He also invited those present to attend Sias' 20th Anniversary Celebrations in May. The Vice-Chairman of the Construction Branch of the Architectural Society of China, Wang Xinquan, spoke of the important impact that the development of civil architecture had on the regions of Central and Western China over the past 8 years.
After the opening ceremony, many guests conducted lectures and delivered speeches on the topics of civil engineering development and rural environmental construction. They also had open fora where they discussed the strategy of Rural Revitalization among each other.
Zhou Fengjun spoke about the architectural characteristics of ancient and modern China as well as those in foreign countries. He said that he was looking forward to the prospects of civil engineering and rural environmental construction in China in the future. Xiao Wei spoke of rural construction and exploration from 5 aspects - rural revitalization strategies, ecology and culture, the concept of ecological civilization, research on traditional rural architecture, and the practice of planning and design for rural revitalization. Zhang Dongshan's topic was on the links between industrial planning measures in villages and towns across China. With examples of world-famous buildings, he spoke of the plans for strategic development in rural revitalization. Lei Honggang delivered a lecture on the application of assembled and passive buildings in rural housing. Prof. Xu Jiqing shed light on the origin of rural revitalization in China as well as value orientation and rural development. Prof. Huang Wei spoke of Green Assembled Structural Residential Building Systems in villages and towns, and put forward theories of assembling collaborative designs to improve and standardize design methods. Fan Shaoming, delivered a speech on innovation in residential buildings in Southeastern Hubei through the example of the Yuguitang Project in Xianning. Prof. Wang Xinquan spoke of learning from foreign rural construction models to promote rural revitalization in China and elaborated on the applied research of multi-center governance theory with typical foreign rural construction models. Associate Professor Liu Hongtao delivered a speech on the protection and utilization of cultural heritage in rural areas, with examples from Sichuan Province. Li Hu spoke of the importance of water resources in scenic area construction with the background of rural revitalization. He put forward 5 stages of rural reform - exploring breakthroughs, urban-rural interaction, comprehensive advancement, urban-rural planning, and five-year plans.
At the closing ceremony, the general assembly concluded that environmentally-focused construction should be taken as an important part of the development and construction of a nation. The goal is to accelerate the development of urbanization and new rural construction in China, while effectively promoting green, sustainable, low-carbon methods, to promote the sustainable development of the economy and society. The Organizing Committee thanked the guests and scholars for their lectures from their academic research combined with their practical experience in working towards the development of China's construction industry.
During the conference, there was an exhibition of the Henan University Students Architectural Design Competition, and the China Construction Industry Publishing House's 2019 Zhengzhou Book Fair. There was also the signing of a Cooperation Agreement between the Alliance of National Construction Universities in Central & Western China, and China Architecture & Building Press.
