Puzzles of Complexity – Housing Project | China

The Power of Simplicity in Modern Architecture

As practitioners of architecture, we are constantly seeking to strike a balance between form and function, between simplicity and complexity. In our latest housing project, we have embraced the minimalist aesthetic by designing modular houses that measure 3×3 meters and exude simplicity. However, this simplicity belies a more complex urban plan that allows for successive expansion.

One could say that these houses embody the architectural principle of parsimony, or the idea that the simplest design is often the most effective. The 3×3 meter starting point of these houses allows for a certain level of customization and adaptability, while the ability to add on to the initial form allows residents to create a living space that is uniquely their own.

But the real beauty of these modular houses lies in their placement within the urban plan. The site is tiled in a “chess-like” pattern, a symbolic representation of the binary principle at the foundation of all computer technology. By multiplying the initial form and arranging the houses in this pattern, we have created a visually stunning community that is a testament to the complexity that can arise from simplicity. It is a reminder of the age-old adage “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” and a nod to the philosopher Aristotle’s concept of the whole being “more than the sum of its parts.”