Articles by Collin Chen

Baiziwan Social Housing (later referred to as Baiziwan) is the first affordable housing project by MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong. Situated near the CBD (central business district) in Beijing, the project covers an area of 93,900 square meters, with a total construction area of 473,300 square meters. The scheme is comprised of 12 residential buildings collectively providing 4000 households. Since its completion, almost 3000 families have moved in. The project offers dwellings for welfare dependents and young professionals. The project is a culmination of Ma Yansong’s extensive research into social housing, which began in 2014. Under the thematic topic “The Sociality of Social Housing,” MAD’s research focuses on the historical development and design of social housing across different countries. The research has been further developed by Ma Yansong’s own engagements with this subject while teaching at Tsinghua University and the Beijing Architecture University. Later, Beijing’s Public Housing Center invited Ma Yansong to design the Baiziwan Social Housing in 2014. MAD saw the commission as an opportunity to improve the living conditions of low-income communities and introduce a fresh perspective to the current dull residential design image in China.

Only a few meters from Quarry No. 9, one finds the entrance to Quarry No. 8, which houses a location for reading and studying that is distributed over various platforms in the interior. The space extends about 50 meters into the mountain and reaches a height of nearly 40 meters. This cave, too, was created as a result of stones being quarried by hand from the top down. The lateral terraces are evidence of faulty rock, which is why the quarrying of blocks was abandoned and a random interior topography was created.

Quarry No. 9: Stage Space. Quarry No. 9 is cut into the rock as if with a knife and after a narrow entrance widens into an approximately rectangular area that tapers upwards in the interior like a very high-pitched roof with a narrow slit that lets daylight in. This quarry is a typical example of top-down mining. But, here, the fact the lower part that was created by means of machine excavation is also visible since it differs in shape from the hand-worked parts above it. The lower area has a vertical wall structure due to the use of machines, while the conical shape above is the result of manual work. The cathedral-like space, the rear part of which is partly covered, has excellent acoustics, even though its shape was created by chance during the quarrying of stones. After various tests were performed, the acoustic qualities were improved by means of the flooring, panels in the side railings, and sound-absorption measures to facilitate versatile use.

Common and Uncommon Living for Seven. We were commissioned in early 2019 by a couple who wanted to build a shared home for their wife’s families. The 212-square-meters site is located in a village on the outskirts of Beijing. It was the residence of the client and her family when she was a child. Being away for many years, the couple now wants to return to the village life with the family. The client’s parents and her younger sister’s family of three will be living here on daily basis. The client couple who live in the city will come here on weekends to reunite with family and experience village life. For them, it is a vacation house.