In the 1960s, the Chinese government commissioned a collective living model to respond to population growth. Today, nearly one billion people live in this Microdistrict (Xiao’qu) housing. As a national-wide housing model, Microdistrict today faces the crisis of obsolescence and the loss of identity. In response, this thesis project proposes incremental steps to extend the buildings' life expectancy and support its distinct identity. By creating new building envelopes and rearranging ground conditions in the neighbourhoods, the design will create new communal spaces, guides and strengthens interactive moments in the neighbourhood. With the cooperation of resident’s committees, the proposal aims to speak to the need of residents, having the space respond to the call of its own users.





The design proposal focuses on potentially solving these two questions.

a.      Concrete buildings can last 70-100 years, yet the early 80s xiaoqu buildings today is already facing the crisis of be demolishing due to obsolescence. The proposal is meant to solve this problem in both means of reduce unnecessary carbon emission and construction waste, and to extend the life expectancy of xiaoqu.

b.     Chinese culture is often misinterpreted as an ancient culture, especially in the field of architecture.  There is less focus on contemporary cultural production.  It is however, a false assertion to say that there is no culture in Xiaoqu. This might be a mass-produced, ordinary housing model, but it is not banal or boring at all. In fact, the culture and identity of both this community and its people is hiding in the activities of the everyday.

An adaptive reuse project based on the Xiao’qu model would repurpose these concrete residential bar buildings for an enhanced public and social use, for emerging family structures. The design also emphasis on the public domain and pedestrian space.