Tulou Collective Housing China

Low-income housing apartment is a general concern in the Chinese modern cities. For Guangzhou and
its neighbouring areas, the influx of migrant labors has triggered the rise of real estate price, and now
the Chinese architecture practise URBANUS came up with a creative solution of Chinas contemporary
collective housing, The urban Tulou, ( is a dwelling type unique to the Hakka people. It is a communal
residence between the city and the countryside, integrating living, storage, shopping, spiritual, and public
entertainment into one single building entity) it is located on the border between Guangzhou and its
neighbouring city of Foshan and is targeted for low-income workers. " We were designing a rental
apartment building for people whose monthly income is below 1,500 yuan (P 10,932.27) and who would be very
reluctant to spend more than 20 yuan (P 1,457.64) to stay at any place ," Liu Xiaodu, founder and director of

URBANUS said.
URBANUS called their design an "e-shaped loop" - a fortified circle with an opening that invites people
to explore inside. The "e-shaped loop" has an outer circular block with 7 stories. The round shape
distinguishes itself from the block-shaped high-rising buildings in the surrounding. Within the outer
circular block is a rectangular box with a collective roof garden on its top. A bridge element connects
the inner rectangular block and outer circular. Both the blocks contain small apartment units; the
spaces in between are for circulation and community use. A square courtyard is located in the centre
of the whole complex.
Like the traditional Tulou that integrates living, storage, shopping,
religion, and public entertainment into one single building entity,
there are shops and other community facilities including library,
bicycle parking and computer room etc., that are placed in the
lower floors of the complex. The higher floors contain 278 dorms or
units with carefully considered positions that allow day light and
ventilation. The corridors and bridges with inserted public places
give the residents extra opportunities for interaction, while the
circular facade has a rather defensive expression to the outer side.
In the summer, people often take their food to the terrace and eat
together.

The Hakka people built fortified earthern houses to defend themselves against fierce animals and
thieves. The layout of their Tulou followed the Chinese dwelling tradition of "closed outside, open
inside" concept: an enclosed wall with living quarters around the peripheral and a common courtyard
at the center. These round earthern houses captured the architects fascination with its underlying
design philosophy. URBANUS experiments explored ways to stitch the Tulou within the existing urban
fabric of the city. The close proximity of each Tulou building helps insulate the users from the chaos
and noise of the outside environment, while creating an intimate and comfortable environment inside.
A round shape would virtually fit in anywhere - it's the architectural antidote to social segregation, Liu Xiaodu
says. Our Tulou is not a showpiece; it's a practical model, a viable design with a noble ambition.
The entire structure is wrapped in a perforated concrete shell punctuated by wooden lattices that
shade the balconies, giving each unit a secondary living space. The design translates the visual
monotony inherent to an "e-shaped loop" with richly textured inner and outer facade.

In the south China, where there is a much longer summer season

and a relatively warm winter, it is necessary to prevent the
penetration of the sun by using few windows, smaller courtyard
together with thick walls. Those are the technically sophisticated
features of the traditional Fujian Tulou. Like the thick walls of
pounded earth that functions as the insulation from summer heat,
URBANUS designed extra living spaces by adding balconies to each unit. The balconies with wooden
lattices build a protective outer layer to foil direct sunshine in the summer, while the open interior of
the structure creates a sense of space and light, as well as provides plenty of natural ventilation.