Shaxi
Shaxi is a historically significant market town in the foothills of the Himalayas in China’s Yunnan Province. The town’s preservation is a collaboration between the local government, the LCCC and the Swiss government, our involvement focused on preserving the town and introducing sustainable design and a modern approach to tourism as part of a broad team ranging from master-planning and landscape design to graphic design and branding.
The optimization of the existing structures was done in a visually subtle way, introducing natural day-lighting and ventilation. A RELUX daylighting analysis showed the buildings were too dark inside and therefore over-reliant on artificial lighting. In order to counter this a number of the existing tiles were replaced with translucent tiles, and under this a cheap and inventive system of translucent cases filled with empty PET cola bottles was manufactured and suspended between the roof beams in order to provide light through the roof without excessive energy loss.
Shaxi, Yunnan
5,000 m²
Feasibility Study to Construction
Environmental Engineering
Environmental Study 2012
