The Binary Dwelling is a academic project exploring residential cluster design possibilities with given context in Shanghai area. Two different living conditions and perforates need to be fulfilled and in the same time uniforming the design syntax to fit urban constrains.
The Relocated VS The Young
In Shanghai, the city is spreading at a surprising speed. Rural areas are continuously urbanized. As a result, many former farmers have to move out from their original residence (usually low dense rural houses) to a totally new settlement (usually collective houses). Each relocated family, as policy says, will obtain three dwellings from the government. In most cases, the relocated family will live in one suit and rent out the other two.
On the other hand, the urban construction and the growth of economy demand a large deal of physical and mental labor. Therefore, many young people with particular skills or knowledge migrate to Shanghai to seek career chances. Many of these young people are little wage-earning at the very beginnings of their careers and are usually very busy. For this reason, they need some cheap and convenient place to live temporarily.
Public and Communication
In the community for the young, they share the same central public space which is resulted in the social characters of young people. We do not emphasis the privacy of semi-public of each groups because we'd like to offer them a chance to walk out from their small groups and to communicate in whole community with more potential friends. Therefore, we construct a semi-exterior platform in each building directing straightly to the central space which would be supported by variety operations and activities.
Privacy and Tranquility
For the relocated, here we design a courtyard house with traditional elements for the relocated. The yard provides a neutral space between privacy and public. It also creates a sense of neighborhood which is regarded important in traditional life style.
