For many years, the architect and social activist Hsieh Ying-Chun has built houses for minority and other disadvantaged groups with limited means. He helped the Thao people rebuild their homes after the Taiwan 921 earthquake in 1999, and offered assistance to various redevelopment projects in Sichuan Province, China, after the 512 earthquake there in 2008. Hsieh proposes a “mutual subject” for architecture, inviting inhabitants and architects to design and build houses together. Not only a concept or aesthetic point, the collaboration is part of the long-term action of expanding architecture and solving employment issues in areas inhabited by minorities. Hsieh’s sustainable practice integrates social culture, economic limitations, ecology and environment as well as collective community efforts to rebuild. Mutual Subject: What to Be Done? is a documentary of Hsieh’s work with the Thao people of Taiwan and the Qiang people of China and also features interviews with many of the native laborers.

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