In China, the number of young bachelors is drastically raising because of the skyrocketing housing prices
and women are unwilling to marry men without a property. As a result,
young graduates spend most of their time working hard but remain single
until they can afford a property. In order to cater for this trend,
developers start launching smaller housing units to the market. This
project designed by Kellen Qiaolun Huang from Cornell University aims at exploring different ways of how these bachelor housing units can be designed other than just being smaller.
Home activities can be divided into two categories: private
activities (sleeping, bathing, etc.) and public activities (cooking,
eating, reading, relaxing, etc.). Researching and remapping the
topological relationship between these two categories are the keys to
this project. An X-shaped pattern is generated as result: a private
space is being placed in the center with four quarters of public spaces
in the corners. The pattern may seem meaningless to individuals until
all units are aggregated to form a large interconnecting social network. This network becomes the prototype of X-House.
Several studies have been carried out to investigate the evolution
from an X-pattern to the spatial prototype. The mature X-spatial
prototype is a model with bedroom and bathroom space in the center and
four quarters of sharable space in those four corners. A typical
sharable space includes living room, reading/study room, dining room and
a multifunctional room.
Another issue addressed by this X-spatial prototype is the concept of
connectivity. There are three degrees of connectivity within this
model. The largest degree is allowed by a staircase at the back of the
design which provides direct and physical connection. The intermediate
degree allows visual connection among people in different spaces at the
front of the model. The smallest degree lies in the middle of the
X-spatial prototype and gives people some privacy.
Источник: http://www.evolo.us/architecture/the-x-house-is-a-prototype-for-a-housing-social-network-in-china/ |