Haiwei Xie : B.R.I.C. House (2012 AR Global Architecture Graduate Awards Winner)
Designed by Chinese student Haiwei Xie at the Royal College of Art, the project title B.R.I.C. House combines the traditional English picture of domesticity with the acronym for the emerging economic nations − Brazil, Russia, India and China − whose diasporas are already well represented in Chelsea’s flush new arrivals. But far from catering to this global elite, the scheme is designed to be more inclusive. ‘The intention is to create a high-quality but low-price, high-density but low-rise housing development aimed at a diverse and multi-cultural society,’ says its designer. The architecture is shaped for the emerging groups of single parents, single persons and immigrants, and accordingly prioritises public space over private provision. Everything but personal bedrooms is shared, and Xie develops what she calls ‘public living rooms’, using development patterns borrowed from the four B.R.I.C. nations. (text quoted from AR website)
