You don't have to let a modern lifestyle uproot traditional values. That's China's message to the Venice Architecture Biennale, now underway. With the theme "Daily Design, Daily Tao", this year's China Pavilion is showcasing both building and fashion design.

With the theme "Daily Design, Daily Tao", this year's China Pavilion is showcasing both building and fashion design.?

How to meet the demands of new construction while inheriting traditional techniques - that's the conundrum the China Pavilion is taking on.

Among the installations is the 'Checkered Playroom', with its concave and convex squares.

Its access points at different levels and in various directions give children more scope for spatial exploration.

"We can open these two boards and create a new space. The boards can be shorter to form a chair or put together to become a table. Children love to adapt an area in their own ways. So we had the plan to build an indoor playground for them without using sand or water," said Zhu Jingxiang, architect.

"I work in the construction-materials industry. I travel quite a lot in China. What I miss in China nowadays is the connection to the old culture of building, but this exhibition embraces that, and I am really enjoying the way traditional approaches are showing up."

But this exhibition is not just about construction; there's also fashion.

Here, dozens of handmade clothes are on display, including those of famous designer Ma Ke. She is also trying to recapture a lifestyle sacrificed for the sake of efficiency.

"I have always been interested in traditional Chinese handcrafts. In order to know the traditional process and craft, I travelled into many remote rural areas of China. I lived in local farmers' houses and I experienced their lives. I have learned a lot from it," said Ma Ke, fashion designer.

This edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale, directed by Chilean pioneering architect Alejandro Aravena, runs from the 28th of May to the 27th of November, 2016.

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