Products for Cities

People’s Architecture Office presents six projects inspired by urban
life in China. Based in Beijing, PAO observes how architecture can be
alienating in its scale and permanence. In between these megaprojects
we discover people who find their own ways to adjust to the changing city.
Our Products for Cities are born from these in-between spaces. Instead
of power through size, the Products propose power through numbers.
Permanence is not expressed in the solidity of concrete but rather
through the persistent flexibility of social engagement. We’ve collected
lessons learned from urban citizens and developed them into examples
of architecture as product.

Tricycle House and Garden
Housing in China has become increasingly unaffordable. In response, the
Tricycle House proposes nomadic living that avoids land ownership in
favor of parking space. The Tricycle House borrows from the ubiquitous
worker’s tricycle. The interior of the vehicle includes furniture that
transforms the space from bathroom to dining room to bedroom. An
accompanying Tricycle Garden serves as portable green space for
navigating barren urban landscapes.

Popup Habitat
The Popup Habitat is a tent structure that can be quickly deployed and
collapsed. Unused urban spaces between off-ramps or under bridges, for
instance, can be occupied with Popup Habitats. The structures connect
to one another to form interconnected communities, and stack and
cantilever to provide cover and shade.

Convertible Solarium
The Convertible Solarium plays off of the popularity of DIY additions
commonly found in Chinese courtyard houses. With permanent additions
no longer legal in historic neighborhoods, the Solarium acts as a
temporary room addition. The entire room can open upwards to become a
roof and a semi-outdoor extension that connects the interior to the yard.

Accordion Shower
Residents of Chinese courtyard houses often open adjacent doors into
circulation space to temporarily wall off small areas to be used for
bathing. The Accordion Shower formalizes this space by developing a
stand-alone product that expands out to create a private shower and
contracts to make way for circulation.

People’s Canopy
The People's Canopy references expandable canopies popular in Southern
China. These are typically used by small businesses to temporarily expand
their space in an informal way. The People’s Canopy is a two-story high
expandable roof structure on bicycle wheels. It collapses to the size of a
double-decker bus so that it can be easily pedaled from one location to
another. Cycling the canopies from place to place is a social event in itself.
When parked, the canopy opens like an accordion to cover entire streets.
Spaces for automobiles become spaces for pedestrians and events.

Tubular Baitasi
An urban architectural vernacular of sorts, ubiquitous HVAC metal ducts
comprise the design of Tubular Baitasi. We employ them as modular elements
in a facade that engages the public in various ways. The ducts read as a
building-size sign, spelling out BaiTaSi (White Pagoda Temple in Chinese).
Integrated into the sign are devices for social interaction. Certain characters
on the sign are in fact periscopes. Some provide aerial views of surrounding
landmarks while others provide views to upper floor interiors. On the ground
the ducts extend out from the building as urban furniture.