Latticework

Located in Hangzhou, China on the site of the Song Dynasty ruins, Latticework is a proposal for an alternative urban development strategy to the existing proliferation of high-rise apartments seen across China. Currently occupied by migrant workers, the area has seen increased densification through constructed additions to existing low-rise buildings, which often block natural light entirely to existing apartments. This project exists between three scales: from the abstraction of geometric patterns as drivers for urban forms, to the human scale of residential units, and ultimately, to the fabrication process of their constituent elements. To accommodate increasing density while preserving the communal lifestyles and shared semi-public spaces inherent in the existing neighborhood, this urban strategy takes the form of a thickened mat system, functioning as a scaffold that can be gradually infilled for increased density while preserving natural light and outdoor space. Constructed with timber framing, the system adapts to changes in topography with a grid that is allowed to shift and become trapezoidal where needed, with non-orthogonal joints enabled by a digitally-fabricated system. Additionally, the scaffolding system allows for excavation and viewing of the Song Dynasty palace remains, uncovering a previously-hidden historical identity and integrating it with the daily lives of local residents.