Shanghai is the most populated city in China and one of the most populated ones in the entire world, with over 20 million inhabitants. Although its atmospherical pollution is inferior to that in other Chinese cities like Beijing, its fast development during the last decade of the 20th century keep it on a high leve of pollution compared to other cities of the globe of similar conditions.

Shikumen architecture is a traditional style from SHanghai that combines elements of Western and Chinese architecture. At the height of their popularity they comprised over 60% of the housing stock in SHanghai, but in the past years most of the shikumen neighbourhoods have been demolished. Only in the past 5 years 30% of the Shikumen buildings have been demolished to build high-rise constructions.

One of the few remaining Shikumen neighbourhoods is Hongfu Li, situated in the International Settlement, in the area of Hongkou, at the North of the Downtown area of the city. With its buildings of two and three stories and its red brick facades (one of the main characteristics of Shikumen buildings), the neighbourhood stands out against its surroundings of high-rise complexes.

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The intervention consists on creating a structure made of laminated wood so it is lighter. This structure will strenghthen the existing buildings and serve as foundation for a new complex of buildings that will “float” over the existing ones. This new complex will be a longitudinal structure that will twist and turn around the supporting structure, resembing a snake (in honor to Chinese mythology). 

The top will be crowned with a garden that will serve as place of recreation and also as a lung for the city. It will be covered by a fabric that will let it transpire so the vegetation is able to absorb the CO2 but at the same time protects the plants. This, along with the power of wood fiber to absorb CO2, will help significantly with the increasing pollution of the city.

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Due to the fact that the facilities in the existing shikumen houses are very basic for today standards, the younger generations have moved to live in modern apartments, leaving the neighbourwood to be inhabited mostly by older locals who have been there all their lives.

To attract a younger population back to the neighbourhood the project proposes a series of small student housing, which are affordable and would cause a process of gentrification that would revitalize Hongfu-Li. 

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Part of the lower floor of the existing buildings could be used to create small businesses within the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. This would serve as a way to revitalize the area and attract more people to the neighbourhood and create new employment.

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The apartments will be boxes of 17 ’5 m2. Due to this small size all the fixtures and furniture will be hidden both under the floor and above the ceiling, this way they will only be taken out when needed, so the space will seem a lot bigger.

The tables and shelves will be the ceiling itself, taken down, while the deeper furniture will be hidden in the space conformed by the beams of the outside structure.

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