The Commune by the Great Wall (Chinese: 长城脚下的公社) is a private collection of modern architecture and SOHO China managed boutique hotel, in Beijing, China.
It was exhibited at La Biennale di Venezia in 2002 and bestowed a special prize. Ms Zhang Xin, the mastermind and investor for the project, was recognized for her “bold personal initiative which emphasizes the role of 12 Asian architects in building privately owned houses in a definitively contemporary manner.” The Centre Pompidou, Paris now houses the exhibited model, made of wood and cardboard, as its first permanent collection from China.
The Commune by the Great Wall is near the Badaling section of the Great Wall. Badaling is one of Beijing's biggest tourist destinations. The Commune consists of private villas designed by 12 prominent Asian architects. This project's vision was to encourage creativity to influence a new generation of Asian architects, developers and consumers. At the Shuiguan section of the Great Wall- the Commune shares the tranquility of the mountains with a Unesco World Heritage Site. The Commune's clubhouse and 11 villas, which each have a living room, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms are nestled in a valley totaling eight square kilometers. Some of its luxurious villas have sauna rooms, accessible rooftops, terraces or BBQ facilities. Commune by the Great Wall is destination for corporate functions, events, weddings, film shoots and fashion shows.
The Commune has furniture and other interior decorations from such distinguished designers as Serge Mouille, Thierry Hoppe, Von Robinson, Philippe Starck, Alex Strub, Claudio Colucci, Ross Menuez, Kaname Okajima, Jonas Damon, Karim Rashid, Matthew Hilton, Marc Newson, and Michael Young.