John Lin stands on a remote mountainside in southwest China, a brick grasped in each hand. The one in his right, the 39-year-old architect explains, is the local standard. It costs Rmb0.45 ($0.07) and has a scorched surface with roughly hewn, crumbly edges. In his left hand is a clean, terracotta oblong with three penny-sized hollows bored through the centre. At Rmb1.95 ($0.32), this clay-sintered brick is four times more expensive, but Lin thinks the investment worthwhile. The hollows will help cool the new homes he has designed when it is summer, and insulate them in winter – and, should an earthquake strike this region again, the village will stand a better chance of surviving.
39歲的林君翰(John Lin)站在地處中國(guó)西南的偏遠(yuǎn)山區(qū)，雙手各拿了一塊磚。他解釋道：自己右手拿的是當(dāng)?shù)爻霎a(chǎn)的磚，每塊4.5角（約7美分），磚面焦黃，切割粗糙的磚邊沿容易破損；左手拿的則是相對(duì)潔凈的四方形陶土磚，磚中間是三根硬幣大小的空心管柱。這種粘土磚每塊1.95元（約32美分），價(jià)格約是普通磚的4倍，但林認(rèn)為這種磚一分價(jià)錢一分貨。他設(shè)計(jì)的這種中空磚能讓自己設(shè)計(jì)的新居成功做到冬暖夏涼——而且，地震若再次發(fā)生，全村房屋的抗震效果就會(huì)大大增強(qiáng)。