Design Report
The proposed structure of one house is a modern day example of+ traditional Chinese architecture, with an emphasis on areas concerned with maximizing energy efficiency and ensuring a strong social collaboration between residents. Each apartment relies on the other apartment's existence to ensure the structure's stability and in turn ensures each others capacity to be part of one house. The apartments are broken up and brought together through the inclusion of the traditional Chinese hutong (city alley or lane) and Siheyuan (quadrangle). The hutong's presence is exhibited in the walkways and stairs throughout the overall structure and connects with the garden areas, or Siheyuan, made apparent by the layout of each apartment. These Siheyuan areas are a very important factor in increasing the energy efficiency of the structure, a concept of great importance faced by the Chinese building industry at present as a means of achieving sustainable world development. Since 1985 the air-conditioning industry has increased 13 times, with this the infrastructure investment now exceeds 25 billion Yuan (US$3 billion) and in turn, throughout summer air conditioners have become a main cause of severe electrical power shortages in China. Further to this, in 1996 such a large number of people in Nanjing suffered heat shock that the hospitals could not handle all the patients, whereas in previous years, temperatures have been recorded as much higher yet there has been a lesser number of heat shock victims affected. By being immersing in air-conditioned housing schemes, occupant's body resistance to diseases have shown to weaken sharply. Due to these factors a more active approach to design, keeping in mind natural ventilation, shading devices, passive heating and so forth have been addressed in the scheme of one house. The layout of the individual apartments themselves are arranged basically along one axis with a strong focus on privacy to the kitchen and dining zones and opening up onto the Siheyuan areas from either the family room or child's bedroom on each floor. This factor has been employed to create a stronger focus on interfamily contact to promote a safer living environment and to provide the single child with sufficient social activities with neighboring children. Tradition Chinese design elements have also been adhered to, examples of which are evident through the raised doorway at the main entry to each apartment, which in accordance with Chinese superstition is there to keep the evil spirits from being able to enter.