Domestic Horizon

This thesis study tackles with the problem of “Growing the City, Shrinking the Footprint”. In cities that are growing even taller and condensing even smaller, the thesis wanted to create a system utilizing an AERIAL PEDESTRIAN NETWORK system, namely WALKWAYS IN THE AIR

1. to lift the DOMESTIC HORIZON;

2. to create a CITY ABOVE GROUND,

3. and to expand street life on the ground.

The thesis also updates the Chinese Model of Density, by injecting an 80s flavor of mixed-use BLOCK SCALE development with Expanded Street Life into the current need of residential high-rises grouped in SUPER BLOCK SCALE communities.

Guangzhou requires a set of design tools which can be adopted by the government to encourage a new residential experience, where the ground level is connected, urban life is expanded, and the sense of neighborhood is preserved by Aerial Loops connecting residential towers on the Domestic Horizon. The viability of this model is supported by the fact that the AGGREGATION, namely the 2x3 lot with five Buildings are of the same size as one real-estate residential high-rise community. This assures that the real-estate communities can be gradually replaced by this design tool.