Vernacular Home Primary Function: Fale i Nu'u i Tua by Xinyun Li

Vernacular Home Primary Function: Fale i Nu'u i Tua by Xinyun Li is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award Uʻamea in Oloa Gafataulimaina Competition Category.

UʻameaOloa Gafataulimaina· 2026

Vernacular Home Primary Function: Fale i Nu'u i Tua

by Xinyun Li

A' Design Award Uʻamea Winner in Oloa Gafataulimaina Category

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Vernacular Home Primary Function: Fale i Nu'u i Tua

Book Text: O le Fale Fa'aleaganu'u i Bangladesh e mamanuina i mea faifa'ato'aga fa'apitonu'u, e pei o le palapala, le 'ofe, le vaomago, ma piliki e faia mai 'ele'ele fa'apitonu'u. I le tali atu i tau vevela ma vaitau timuga umi, e iai lona taualuga sa'o tifato, se poletito maualuga, ma le fetufaa'iga o le ea mo le fa'amalulu fa'anatura. O avanoa i puipui fa'asaga i le matagi ma puipui fa'aliliuese e tu'u ai le vevela i fafo, a'o pu piliki fa'alua e teu ai le vevela. O ulo omea o lo'o teu i le puipui o le fale lauti e fa'amalulu ai le ea. E fa'aaogaina fagu susu vai o le malamalama mo totonu o le fale, e aofia ai potumoe, se umukuka, se faleuila, ola povi, ma se fale lauti fa'atasi ma se nofoaga fa'atau e lagolago ai lo latou ola a'o fa'amautinoa le le fa'alauaiteleina.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Uʻamea

O le A' Design Award Uʻamea na manumalo ai Vernacular Home Primary Function: Fale i Nu'u i Tua, o se faamaoniga mamalu e tuuina atu i mamanu lelei e faataunuu ai manaʻoga faapolofesa ma pisinisi e faamoemoeina mai galuega ua mamanuina lelei. O ē manumalo i le Uʻamea e faaalia ai le tomai tele, le faapitoa maualuga, le malamalama o tagata poto ma le mafai fatufatuaʻi o ē na faia. E faamoemoeina Vernacular Home Primary Function: Fale i Nu'u i Tua e avea ma mea ua matuā vivii, mataʻina ma pelepelea e aogā ma fou. O lenei mamanu na manumalo i le A' Design Award Uʻamea e tuufaatasia ai faiga sili o le pisinisi ma e iai uiga faatekonolosi mafai ua fesoʻotaʻi ma le poto ma le taleni. Ona o lona faatuatuaina, e tatau ai Vernacular Home Primary Function: Fale i Nu'u i Tua ona faaaloalogia ma ua mamanuina e tuuina mai ai faaleleiga o le olaga e fesoasoani e faia ai e le lalolagi se nofoaga e sili atu ona lelei.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The Vernacular Home in Modonpur, Bangladesh, is a sustainable house built with local materials like mud, straw, bamboo, bricks, and tin sheets. Designed for a family of four, it supports living, working, and livelihood. It responds to the hot, rainy climate with a raised veranda, steep roof, and cross-ventilation strategies in the facade design. Clay pots on the wall cool the tea house, while 'liter bottles of light' brighten interiors, showing a low-cost, low-impact design philosophy.
Dimensions & Packaging: tin sheet: 2' width * 8' length
Brick: 9 5/8" length* 4 5/8" height * 3" depth
Pottery: large opening is 5" R, and the small side opening is 1.5" R
The mud wall is 10" thick
Bamboo: 1.5" R
Tags: sustainability, vernacular home, rural, house, traditional building, local materials, climate
Production Technology: Bangladesh's locally made bricks and tin sheets.
Natural straw, mud, pottery, and bamboo.
The brick and the tin sheets are standard sizes and are manufactured in the local factories.
Traditional handmade mud and the way of polishing.
The potteries on the mud walls are smaller than the local typical size, which were made in the neighboring village.
The way of tying the straw is their vernacular type.
Design Challenge: Use the vernacular materials and design the buildings to face the local climate to make the microclimate more comfortable. Control the building budget and labor cost under 2500 USD.
Research: Two weeks were spent in the village to become familiar with local materials and to study traditional mud construction techniques as well as straw-tying methods. During this period, I also researched the climate of Para Dash and analyzed the vernacular architectural language, considering how new strategies could be integrated into the design to improve the microclimate. The needs and expectations of the local residents were carefully documented and incorporated into the final design.
Inspiration: This project explores the social responsibility of architects. Despite rapid technological advancements, many regions around the world remain underdeveloped. People in these areas are more directly exposed to natural conditions, yet they also have the right to live a better life. As architects, we should not only make better use of locally available materials but also respond to the most immediate needs of these communities by designing housing that is practical and suitable for widespread use.
Project Duration: It is designed in Modonpur, Bangladesh, a very natural village called Dash Para. The design phase lasted 4 months. It is a concept design.
Operation Flow: Given the hot climate in Bangladesh and long monsoon season, the design addresses thermal comfort and climate responsiveness through spatial layout, façade design, and roof form. A raised veranda protects against flooding, and steeply pitched roofs ensure efficient rainwater runoff. Rooms are arranged for optimal cross-ventilation, with varying window heights on windward and leeward sides to expel heat. On the tea house façade, locally made clay pots from a neighboring village are inserted into the mud wall to help cool the air by compressing airflow, enhancing microclimate comfort.
Image Credits: Image #1: Xinyun Li
Image #2: Xinyun Li
Image #3: Xinyun Li
Image #4: Xinyun Li
Image #5: Xinyun Li