The project ‘housing with a mission’, featured at the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Biennale on architecture and urbanism, is designed as a co-production by five Chinese and five Dutch architectural offices and aims at building 1000 dwellings for the ‘Ant Tribe’ in Beijing. This is the Chinese name for the generation of millions of young graduates who live in cramped conditions in the outskirts of cities and work in low-paid jobs.
The Chinese offices include Standard Architecture, Urbanus, O-Office, Node and CAFA. The Dutch firms include aronsgelauff, Next, KCAP, NL architects and Barcode. More images and project description after the break.
The design of the aronsgelauff project started from the interior. Sophisticated flexible fixtures can adapt to changing use of space. The bed slides underneath the lounge, the kitchen unfolds to a dining table, the kitchen-bench and wardrobe shelving are all rectractable. In the double floor of the the tiny balcony the AC device is stowed. Construction starts at the end of next year.