Building on the successful prototype at Beijing No. 35 High School’s Lu Xun Residence campus—a nationally protected heritage site—Helios introduced transparent photovoltaic vacuum-glazing that generates clean electricity without altering the building’s historic façade. This innovation doubles the lifespan of solar systems to 70 years through zero-H₂O and zero-O₂ encapsulation, transforming façades into self-sufficient, carbon-neutral energy sources. The system’s high thermal insulation (0.7 W/m²·K) and soundproofing (~35 dB) enhance indoor comfort while reducing operational costs by up to 40%.

Extending beyond Beijing, Mercury Academy replicated the Helios intervention at its Shanxi Longyuan Dragon Valley campus, converting another heritage-protected educational building into a zero-emission demonstration site. This cross-regional expansion proves the replicability of sustainable heritage retrofitting across diverse climates, construction types, and socio-economic settings—forming a “Green Heritage Education Chain.”

The two campuses operate as a living laboratory for sustainable development. Together they complete a full educational cycle—theory → design → implementation → data monitoring → educational feedback—linking classrooms with real-world climate action.

By merging renewable energy engineering, heritage protection, and participatory learning, the Helios Project establishes a scalable, network-based model of urban regeneration. It demonstrates that sustainability is not a single building achievement but a connected ecosystem—where culture, education, and technology co-create a cleaner and more resilient future.

MERCURY SUSTAINABLE YAODONG VILLA PROJECT INTRO:

In rural Wenxi County, Shanxi Province, long-term demographic change has profoundly altered the built environment. Rapid aging, combined with the continuous out-migration of younger generations, has left a large number of traditional cave dwellings abandoned. These structures, once carefully adapted to local geography and climate, now face deterioration and collapse, accelerating the decline of rural living conditions.

Shanxi is characterized by a continental climate with cold winters and hot summers. As infrastructure and maintenance systems retreat, many existing cave dwellings no longer meet basic requirements for year-round habitation, making them unsuitable for elderly residents, educational use, or community continuity.

The Helios Yaoshu project emerged as a response to this slow but persistent crisis. Designed with the participation of high school students from Mercury Academy, the project explores how abandoned cave dwellings can be rehabilitated using locally grounded architectural logic rather than replaced by high-energy, externally dependent construction.

Inspired by the protective eaves of the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, new entrance structures were added to the existing cave dwellings, reshaping their external appearance to align with contemporary Jin-style architectural aesthetics while respecting regional cultural identity. Structural guidance was provided by architectural experts from the Yuanmingyuan Society, who reinforced the curved cave vaults using earth-brick structural systems, achieving seismic resistance equivalent to Grade 8.

The glazing system employs Mercury Academy’s proprietary vacuum photovoltaic glass technology. Through the integration of passive thermal strategies and energy-generating building envelopes, the rehabilitated dwellings meet German Passive House performance standards. Without reliance on external energy sources, indoor winter temperatures are increased by approximately 20°C, while maintaining thermal comfort during summer months.

The project forms a small cluster of academy and contemporary residential buildings. The academy spaces are dedicated to education in cultural heritage preservation and sustainable development. Water supply is provided by on-site wells, while wastewater is filtered and discharged into surrounding mountain landscapes, supporting approximately 50,000 mu of lacquer tree forests. After soil filtration, water is naturally returned to the groundwater system.

By combining local materials, minimal cement use, passive environmental design, and educational participation, the Helios Yaoshu project demonstrates a site-specific approach to restoring habitability, cultural continuity, and ecological balance in regions experiencing long-term rural decline.