LXIV. Shenzhen, China.
Shenzhen, China.
Shenzhen is a coastal city in southern China, adjacent to Hong Kong. It is located south of the Tropic of Cancer. It is located in the southern part of Guangdong Province. By the end of 2023, the city has 9 districts under its jurisdiction, with a total area of 1,997.47 square kilometers, a permanent population of 17.7901 million, an urban population of 13.0266 million, and an urbanization rate of 100%. It is the first fully urbanized city in China.
Population:
Urban: 13,026,600 people
Metro: 17,790,000 people
Area:
Urban: 1997.47 km2
Metro: 1997.47 km2
Population Density:
Urban Average: 8865 people/km2
Metro Average: 6522 people/km2
Politics:
The Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government is composed of the mayor, deputy mayors, secretary general, bureau directors, committee chairmen and other personnel. The mayor, deputy mayor and other leading personnel are elected by the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress in accordance with the law. After the election of the leading personnel, the secretary general, bureau directors, committee chairmen and other personnel shall be submitted to the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee for appointment within two months. Each term of office is five years.
TYPOLOGY STUDY
Shenzhen, China: High-Density Building Typologies.
Shenzhen: Urban Void Typologies.
NEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSIS
1. Huaqiangbei
2. Nantou Ancient Town
3. Oversea Chinese Town
SYMBIOTIC DWELLING
Chinatown neighborhood, Chicago, IL, United States
Symbiotic Dwelling is a residential proposal located in Chinatown, Chicago, Illinois, reimagining the district’s typical low-rise, single-family housing with a high-density modular system. The design responds to the area’s rich cultural history while offering a future-oriented living model that integrates private dwellings with shared public life.
At ground level, existing mixed-use shophouses are preserved, maintaining their commercial-residential function and historical scale. These buildings frame a central collective green space, designed for both community events and daily interaction. Each shophouse also features a private garden, extending the shared courtyard into a network of greenery.
Above, modular housing units grow vertically and are interwoven with shared public modules, including rooftop gardens, communal kitchens, clinics, and senior centers. This design supports the diverse community of Chinatown, from long-term immigrants to new generations, encouraging interaction rather than isolation.
By embedding shared spaces within and above the housing units, Symbiotic Dwelling creates a layered system of connection—social, ecological, and cultural—offering a new model of community living rooted in the idea of symbiosis.
RESOURCES
