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A new type of housing community in China Town.



View from the balcony


This project aims to serve the elderly in Manchester through a co-generational housing community, in order, to develop multicultural relations between Chinese and English people. Situated within China Town, the design has enabled the relationships between these groups to blossom though responding to the needs of each interviewee. Creating facilities that were requested, such as a cookery workshop, performance spaces, reading areas to practice language communication, give a place for these cross-cultural relations to develop naturally, as residents interact with each other. These people have been at the centre of our design choices.


View of the atrium


During our interviews, we noticed that across the two cultures, the wants and needs of the elderly were more similar than different. The biggest gap was the expectation of the Chinese elderly for their children to continue living with them. In contrast, the British elderly did not necessarily expect this, but would still love to live closer in contact.


The most successful feature of our design is the curved southern façade with walkways running across, filled with planting and trees. This organic shape, along with the greenery create a welcoming space that brings a generous expansive feel to the whole site, in stark contrast to the perpendicular industrial buildings that surround it. Perhaps it could evoke a little of the awe felt in a natural landscape with grandeur, such as a forest or a distant mountain range.


View of the sheltered walkway and courtyard


Finally, we adopted strategies to reduce energy and building costs. In particular, the curved southern façade that maximises solar gain and the choice of glulam timber as our structure – a sustainable and cheaper option than steel or masonry.



Alice Mana Wilson

Yang Yuxi

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