Rural Urban Framework

In 2005 the Chinese government announced its plan to urbanize half or approximately 350 million of the 700 million rural citizens by 2030. At the same time, Joshua Bolchover and John Lin set up Rural Urban Framework (RUF), a research and design collaborative based at The University of Hong Kong. Conducted as a non-profit organization providing design services to charities and NGOs working in China, RUF has built or is currently engaged in over 15 projects in various villages in China. The projects include schools, community centers, hospitals, village houses, bridges, and incremental planning strategies. As a result of this active engagement, RUF has been able to research the links between social, economic and political processes and the physical transformation of each village.

Their work has been exhibited internationally, including Get it Louder 2012, the
Chengdu Biennale 2011, at the Venice Biennale 2010 and recently at the MAK Vienna. Recent publications include Vitamin Green (Phaidon 2012) and Moderators of Change: Architecture That Helps (Hatje Cantz, 2011) as well as several international journals including Architectural Record, DOMUS, MARK and the Architectural Review.

RUF projects have received numerous international awards. The House For All Seasons, a rural house prototype built in Shaanxi Province China, was awarded the WA Chinese Architecture Award 2012, was the overall winner of the Architectural Review’s House Award 2012, and received a Merit Award in Green Building Awards 2012 and the Design For Asia Gold Award 2012. It was the finalist for Special Award for Residential Architecture in the 3rd Chinese Architecture Media Award. RUF also received high commendations in the AR Emerging Architect Award for the Tong Jiang Primary School, Jiangxi Province in 2012, the Taiping Bridge Renovation in Guizhou Province in 2010 and the Qinmo Village School in Guangdong Province in 2009. It has recently received the WAN 21 For 21 Award 2013.

Joshua Bolchover and John Lin are currently Assistant Professors at the University of Hong Kong and have taught and lectured in numerous academic institutions including the Chinese University of Hong Kong; The Bartlett, UCL; Cambridge University and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.