Vertical Neighbourhood: A Kindergarten for Empty Nesters

The Vertical Neighbourhood is a spatial experiment that offers a departure from the conventional high-rise spatial model, criticised by Herman Hertzberger as 'salami' buildings. Instead, it integrates retirement home facilities and daycare centers for kindergarten children, fostering community and social interaction. The project aims to redefine vertical living by intertwining different programs and creating nodes of interaction. Its modular design and lightweight steel structure enable easy construction and replication in different locations, aligning with sustainability principles. The Vertical Neighbourhood represents an innovative exploration of high-rise typology, emphasising social connectivity, sustainability, and adaptability in urban living contexts.

Pavilion O: A Guided Eternal Space

The concept stems from reinterpreting the geometry of the tomb of King Muryeong in South Korea, which is literally a series of passages and rooms with different levels and aged walls. It is a guided eternal space. This series of rooms could be read as the possibility of the corridor space as a spatial sequence. In terms of eternity, when the curved wall is introduced, it becomes the ‘Endless room’. The curved wall is always guiding the next journey. With daylight and colour and aged wall. Taking full consideration of the gentle slope to bring the natural context and level into the pavilion. It set up a contrast between natural and architectural elements.

L Hermit House: House of Windows

Windows in classic Chinese poetry are mediums that connect the poet's imaginations to the other worlds. The wind and the scenery captured by a window, evoke senses of a dream. Trapped in a small alleyway in at the Dragon-Well tea village, L Hermit House is a fun adaptive reuse project, projecting a hermit’s dream upon a rigid plan with many constraints. The windows that operate, open up the glimpses to and frame the view become a mediator between the house and the neighbourhood. In early spring, villagers pick tea leafs and bake them into the well-known ‘Dragon-Well’ Tea. A poet’s dream is sheltered within the house while allowing for an intimate connection to the bustles and the livelihood of the neighbour houses.

Yunlu House: In Response to the 'New Chinese Style'

{Project On-site}

The Yunlu House embodies an attempt to redefine the concept of a 'Chinese house'. Situated within a recently constructed developer-built house in the typical 'New Chinese Style', the project takes the form of an adaptive reuse. Our project encourages contemplation on the notion of cultural authenticity and the essence of a home as a sanctuary of sincerity and comfort. In response to the prevalence of hyperrealistic domestic environments in China, the Yunlu House challenges conventional interpretations of a 'decorated shed', where the original structure is essentially a concrete shell adorned with symbols and signs of a perceived 'Chinese' identity. Our objective is to craft a home that authentically reflects cultural practices, deeply rooted in the core principles of design. This entails translating cultural nuances to suit the contemporary demands of everyday living spaces. For us, authenticity transcends mere symbols and signs; it involves embracing cultural principles, habits, and rituals to cultivate a space where daily chaos harmonises with moments of tension and discipline.

Research Synopsis /

Contesting a Simulacrum: Speculations upon Hyperrealistic Domestic Spaces within 21st Century China

On the journey to formulate a new sense of cultural uniqueness, the home serves as both a medium and a site for experimentation. The contemporary Chinese domestic space often embodies the appearance of a composed ‘theme park’ and operates with a proliferation of symbols and signs. Defined by Jean Baudrillard as 'a model of real without origin or reality', the notion of 'hyperreality' is accommodated within the contemporary Chinese domestic space. The research utilises the 'home' as a pair of lenses to speculate upon social, political, and economic factors that affect the formulation of contemporary Chinese subjectivities. The question of the necessity of 'authenticity' is contested by the phenomenon of hyperreality.

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