Beijing: Wukesong Residential District - No boundaries: America's housing designers discovers a global market for their skills

Residential Architect, August, 2003 by Shelley D. Hutchins

Beijing has very strict laws prohibiting new buildings from casting shadows on residential structures. So when the Watertown Mass.--based firm Sasaki Associates was hired to design 40 acres' worth of high-density housing (plus light commercial) adjacent to the future 2008 Olympic park, the sunlight requirements posed a big challenge. "The city ordinance meant we had to place the residential buildings parallel to one another, and all facing due south so everyone has maximum sunlight exposure," says project architect Julia Nugent.

In addition to scrutinizing city codes, the Sasaki team researched Chinese housing and feng shui principals before designing the Wukesong Residential District. Because such cultural paradigms are essential to salability, the floor plans pretty much designed themselves, according to Nugent. They are almost all through-units along a north-south axis, with public spaces aligned to the south and more utilitarian rooms--like kitchens--facing north.

"One of the questions we dealt with was how we could achieve high density without losing the family-style arrangement," explains Nugent. "Courtyard housing is typical in China, where extended family members own separate units around a common courtyard." Thus, Sasaki provided an abundance of common greens plus several community buildings intended to draw occupants together, such as a library, daycare centers, elder care areas, and a fitness center. Community-focused businesses like barbershops and post offices are scattered throughout the ground floors of various buildings as well, to encourage mingling.

Because Beijing requires developers of mass housing to provide the necessary school buildings, Sasaki's plan includes a preschool/kindergarten center and an adjacent small elementary school. The firm located school playgrounds in an area accessible to everyone in the community.

Wukesong's master plan is divided into four quadrants, each designed for a different demographic. The central area encompasses high-end family units. The other three areas target couples or small families, young buyers, and lower-income buyers. An extensive canal and pedestrian walkway system simultaneously separates and connects the sections.

Although several months were lost due to the SARS outbreak, construction will begin this summer and is scheduled for a 2005 completion date, in hopes that all 3,200 units will sell before the 2008 Olympic games. Nugent says that Beijing has decreed a comprehensive construction ban set to take effect in 2007 and last through the closing ceremonies, so the race to build is on.--s.d.h.

project: Wukesong Residential District, Beijing

client: Ao Lin Real Estate Company, Beijing

architect, land planner, and landscape architect: Sasaki Associates, Watertown, Mass.

associate architect and engineer: Studio Seven Architects and Engineers, Beijing

project size: approximately 900 to 2,200 square feet per unit

site size: 16 hectares (approximately 40 acres)

housing units in project: 3,200

scheduled date of completion: 2005