Hortus-Urbanism
This prototypical project aims to provide contemporary Chinese "urban villages" (Cheng Zhong Cun, 城中村) and their inhabitants with a green spatial infrastructure intended to reconnect them physically, environmentally and socially to their surroundings. Urban Villages are a byproduct of China's rapid urbanization phenomena and despite their problems related to their extreme densification (lack of infrastructure, compromised living conditions), these areas are notable for providing rural migrants with an affordable residence opportunity into the city. The generation of a system of interstitial spaces and the activation of the ground plane through terraces aims to establish environmental and cultural connections to the lifestyles of the migrants. The proposed emergent urban natures can be charged with production areas, environmental features or just be spaces for cultural expression, thus, increasing the value of the space as an urban feature in an environment of great economic pressure. The proposal encourages a symbiotic relationship between the urban and rural, future and past, allowing for a mutually beneficial coexistence.

This project was featured in the World Landscape Architecture blog.