Thermodynamic China
Thermodynamic Materialism Applied to Dense Urban Conglomerates: Two Chinese Case Studies — options studio, Spring 2014 — Iñaki Ábalos and Matthias Schuler
This project attempts to reconcile contemporary forms of development in China (megaplot; large, wide-open public spaces) with historic modes (courtyard house; interiorized, private outdoor space).
Office, residential, retail, and parking are distributed according to solar exposure. (Here, darkest blue is insufficient for housing.) Parts of the mass with the deepest floor plates become retail and parking, and the peaks serve as solar chimneys.
