This affordable housing development in China's Fuyang District, near Hangzhou, features sloping tiled roofs and a pared-back material palette inspired by the region's vernacular architecture.
Gad Line+ Studio, which is based at Zhejiang Gongshang University in Hangzhou, developed the proposal in response to the poor living conditions that affect many communities in rural China.

According to the practice, villages across the country have been neglected for decades as investment was focused on major cities, and young people deserted the countryside in search of better jobs.
The project is located in Dongziguan Village and was supported by the municipal government of Hangzhou, which sought an innovative model for good-quality affordable housing.
The scheme, which covers 15,300 square metres, earned Gad Line+ Studio a place on the shortlist in the Housing Project category of 2018 Dezeen Awards, alongside a London apartment building that has been served with a demolition order.
A total of 50 dwellings were constructed at a total cost of £2.3 million, meaning an average construction cost of just £145 per square metre, which is far below the average, even in rural Hangzhou.

"How to design and construct quality housing for relocalised farmers with such a low budget, while maintaining their original lifestyle of collective living, becomes the major challenge of this project," the architect explained.

The scheme seeks to support the traditional model of collective liv...