Wuhan Optics Valley

The past three decades of urbanization in China has resulted in a vast expanse of repetitive indoor environments. Emphasis on external forms and facades conceals workplaces which are largely undifferentiated, organized in towers around center cores. Functionally monolithic, these towers fueled the growth of Chinese cities based around a service economy but have left a void as China quickly embraces a high-tech sharing economy.

Neither the low-rise tech campuses of Silicon Valley nor the industrial lofts of New York’s Silicon Alley are likely models to be replicated in China at scale. For Chinese cities, the fundamental issue remains one of providing density. Chinese cities are still growing. How can we ‘hack’ density to create future workplaces for the sharing economy?