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MIT and Tsinghua were asked by the Design Department of Beijing Vanke Co. Ltd. to develop the site plan and architectural design for a residential development in the area of the former Asian Games site in Beijing (Figure 1). Throughout the process, architects and engineers worked together to design a site plan and building designs that would promote comfortable outdoor and indoor environments.

This project was centered on the design of several mid-rise buildings for the Taidong Residential Quarter in Shanghai. The design was a collaborative effort of MIT’s Sustainable Urban Housing in China Group and Tongji University’s Construction Engineering Department and Architectural Design and Research Institute. The process was informed by a number of design and technology factors, including the results of energy studies, urbande sign concepts, as well as day lighting and ventilation studies. The primary goal of the design was to minimize the energy use of mechanical equipment and resultant costs through the use of improved building standards and energy-efficient details. Design decisions were made using guidelines from the findings of day lighting, ventilation, and energy studies that analyzed various architectural schemes and features. In addition, every effort was made to make comfortable and livable spaces that were unique to the typical landscape of Shanghai’s urban development.

Shenzhen, located in southern China, is in a region with a warmer climate than Beijing or Shanghai. Vanke Architecture Technology Research Center in Shenzhen invited MIT to work on the site plan and architectural design for energy-efficient housing for phase IV of the Shenzhen Wonderland development (Figure 1). When this project was initiated in 1999, the first two phases of housing were already completed, while phase III and IV were in design development. The program for phase IV included 259 units on 20,000 square meters with a floor area ratio (FAR) of 1.45–1.65, for a total of 30,000 square meters of gross internal area. Unit areas varied from 45 to 135 square meters, and building heights ranged from five to eleven stories.

The MIT Building Technology Group and Tsinghua University advised Tian Hong, a development firm, in the conceptual design of a residential development outside of Beijing named Hui Long Guan. MIT undertook the site planning and architectural design for two residential plots within the larger master plan for the Tian Hong Project. These included development parcels C02 and C06, consisting of 89,000 and 148,000 square meters respectively (Figure 1).

The rapid growth of the Chinese economy has improved the lives of many of its people. With increased income, people desire improved living conditions. The demand for larger and more comfortable housing is increasing. Each year, more than 10 million new residential units are built each year in China, almost ten times more than in the United States. The demand for durable household goods, such as air conditioners, is also increasing dramatically. As a result, demand for energy and materials is accelerating each year. As is common throughout many parts of the developed and developing world, current growth cannot be sustained. The carrying capacity of China’s environment is at risk.