Holcim Awards 2005 - Asia Pacific - Acknowledgement

SRIBS Minimal-Energy Link House, Shanghai, China

Comment of the Holcim Awards 2005 Jury for Asia Pacific
The overall strength of the project lies in its experimental disposition toward the design of mass-developed, small-scale residential buildings. The authors actively engage the increasing demand for affordable housing in China.

Although the units are quite compact, they nonetheless offer spatial variety as well as a diversity of environmentally friendly qualities. The ethical concern is straightforwardly addressed as one of providing for communal interconnectivity within a setting that achieves zero energy consumption in a year due to active and passive solar collectors, natural ventilation, ceiling fans, as well as the utilization of earth heat.

Another significant achievement of the project is the implementation of sustainable state-of-the-art technologies for mass-production and demonstrating their adaptability to local skills and social needs. Given the degree of complexity of crossing “generic” production techniques of the building industry with socio-cultural particularities, this project presents a technically competent architectural solution that is just as aesthetically accomplished as it is pragmatically considered.