Greenhouse House

The desakota is a distinctive urban condition - describing the region around major cities where urban settlement and agriculture co-exist and are extensively intermingled. Feeding the city and housing its overflowing population, the desakota has also recently become a desirable place to live - a balance between the city and country.

The site is one of many greenhouse campuses on the outskirts of Shanghai. Primarily a nursery supplying urban parks and landscapes, individual greenhouses are also rented by urban residents for growing vegetables and weekend gardening. Our client has asked for a small living quarters for short weekend stays.

Utilizing the existing greenhouse structure, the addition uses off-the-shelf sandwich panels and selvaged window and door frames. The division between the inside and outside is extended into a gradient, from the open-air garden to the greenhouse, a raised and shaded platform, and more private rooms - allowing more diverse ways of living.