Huangbaiyu is a model sustainable village in Benxi, Liaoning, China. As of 2006, over 40 individual houses had been built; however, the construction methods, costs, materials used and the house designs have come under great criticism.

Planning

Huangbaiyu was conceived by William McDonough and Partners in conjunction with Tongji University in Shanghai, the Benxi Design Institute, and China-U.S. Center for Sustainable Development. The town is being built in stages and is to be model of sustainable development using principles laid out by McDonough. His main thesis is that instead of trying to reduce waste you eliminate it by having everything be capable of being broken down into technical or biological nutrition that can be reused so that no waste is created and no waste needs to be disposed.

Construction

In April 2006, the project was encountering some difficulties: some housing was completed, but no residents had moved in. By September 2006, 42 houses had been built. The cost of each individual dwelling is estimated to be around 28,000 yuan (A$4,600).

Controversies