China’s twelfth 5-Year Plan (released in 2011) addresses the country’s rapid urbanisation by including a target to deliver 36 million new social housing units by 2015. Shenzhen in southern China, located in the Pearl River Delta in the Guangdong Province, is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It has a large stake in this project and is aiming to deliver 240,000 new units which will house approximately 800,000 people.
At the vanguard of China’s economic reform, Shenzhen has grown 400 times its original size in the last 40 years, following high levels of investment by the government and through mass migration of workers from all over China. The city has a huge transient working population comprising mostly young people, in particular single women. Most residents come to the city from various parts of the country, leaving family, friends and other support networks. Shenzhen is rapidly running out of space, with only limited land available to house future population growth. The demand on natural resources, such as water, is a key issue for its sustainable growth.
International design practice HASSELL was a finalist in a recent competition for the design of the new units, organised by the Shenzhen Centre or Design.
Part of the 2011 Shenzhen-Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, the brief called for ideas that relate to three scales of thinking – 1 unit, 100 families, 10,000 people – encompassing urban design and planning, architecture and interior design.
The scheme adopts the concept of ‘reciprocal living’, whereby people are able to interact with each other, share experiences as well as spaces and develop a stronger sense of community. This idea is applied at each of the three scales of the project.
At the master planning level, the scope of the brief was extended to include uses other than social housing such as retail and market halls, theatres, art studios and exhibition spaces, creating a vibrant hub of activity in the heart of the site. The design breaks down social barriers between existing and new residents, helping to change the city’s perception of social housing by contributing positively to the surrounding neighbourhoods.
On the building level, shared facilities for residents are stacked vertically, allowing easy access for residents. These spaces – including fitness and meeting rooms, homework spaces, small parks and greenhouses – help to promote a strong sense of community among residents, while generating a unique architectural solution for the buildings.
At the single unit scale, flexibility and adaptability of personal space is paramount. Within a regular structural grid (to minimise cost and construction time), apartments can be modified to suit changes in lifestyle on a daily or longer-term basis. Single apartments can be combined into a larger apartment to accommodate a growing family, while furniture can be folded to turn a living space into a bedroom. A more stable community results as the apartments cater to the changing needs of their occupants through their different life stages. The design also imbues a greater sense of responsibility for the residents to care for their living environment, something that is rarely provided within social housing developments.
Images Courtesy HASSELL
