Gonghe Community, Guangzhou
According to China Standard for Urban Residential Area Planning and Design, ordinary habitable rooms need to receive a minimum of 3 hours direct sunlight in midwinter. In this case, almost 70% of the apartments on the ground floor and first floor of these old buildings cannot meet this building code. They do not have enough direct sunlight due to the high density, and they are also smaller than the minimum area requirements or the current average residential area. View more about this case study

​

By using this toolkit, those non-compliant apartments are demolished, leaving only the basic structural framework and the compliant apartments. These spaces are filled with new functions, such as ground parking, green space, gathering space, and neighborhood facilities. The area of reserved apartments is also extended by 12%.

​

Although the building separation distance cannot be increased, adapting part of the ground floor into an open floor can provide a wider view. It also allows sightlines to pass through several rows of buildings to strengthen the visual connection of the whole community. A two-storey height open floor can be green space with small trees. Based on the principles of this toolkit, it is better to be arranged next to the existing greenery to form a larger garden.

​

​