Sustainable Urban Housing in China

As China is becoming more urbanized, about 3.5 million units of housing are built every year. It is very important to develop sustainable urban housing in China. A team of researchers and developers from the USA and China have worked together to develop several housing projects in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. These designs are neither “hi-tech” solutions nor “super-advanced” technologies. Instead, the team provided a socially and technically sustainable development in a high-density setting with a central design goal of achieving symbiotic and environmentally sensitive relationships. The relationships preserve Chinese culture, promote social interactions among the residents, and reduce energy consumptions by decreasing heat loss and maximizing solar gain in the winter and by shading the sun and allowing natural ventilation in the summer. This paper outlines a design example that uses state-of-the-art design tools to achieve the goals of sustainable design.