A Study of Sustainable Social Housing Community Design in Britain and China

Abstract

BritainandChinahaveexperiencedperiodsofrapidpopulationgrowthandinadequate housing construction. Social housing is a form of housing tenure easing the housing pressure. It solves residential demands of different living patterns in middle to low-income groups. The sustainable strategy lies in three aspects:1. Making the utmost use of the local natural environment;2. Providing reasonable public spaceandsuitabletraffic to revitalize community awareness; and 3. The holistic design of multiple dwelling units for different people and long-term needs. This paper shows two projects – Park Hill in Sheffield, UK and Longnan Garden in Shanghai – as precedents of how to design social housing with sustainable approaches by following the local natural characteristics,by respecting traditions and the different demands of residents and the long-term housing usage. UP TO HERE Compared with China’s 20-year social housing development, that in Britain has a long history and presents complicated multiplicities, could provide significant references. This paper shows that such communities could be design in steps: using the organic gallery apartment building layout, the special corridor system connecting the public function to neighborhoods, SI House theories optimizing the hostile design of dwelling units and components. During the design, the local nature and tradition should be respected. Specifically, the Park Hill is built up along the sloping field, four types of apartment units are based on the traditional terraced house, designed holistically for different families; the deck, which is called “street in the sky”, is not only the traffic but also the active place promoting public and neighborhoods relationships; the renovation design retains the former structure and makesthemaximizationofindoorflexibility.LongnanGardenissurroundedbyexisting resident districts; the organic planning based on the traditional courtyards ensures the enough sunlight and river views in the community; the community environment is improved by the courtyards,which include the ground are and roof gardens;elevated corridors run through courtyards connecting common rooms on the second floor; the 7.6-meter-heightskeletonisinnovatedfromSIhousingandtheexperienceofEuropean social housing. The paper summarizes the development tendency of social housing and provides reference for future.