New Socialist Worker Apartment (NSWA) provides living space for low-income service workers in downtown area, which include servant, housekeeper, server, cleaner, cook, etc.  The majority of these populations come from rural area in China. 

Their working places in Shenzhen are mainly concentrated at multiple downtowns of this linear city while their main living places, the “urban villages” in downtown as well, are now confronting extensive renovations.  According to official and unofficial investigations the urban villages in central Shenzhen feed about 3 million low-income people with 10sq.km land area.  In our “Shenzhen Housing Price-scape Model” these villages are the small valleys in the mountain.  To those low-income service workers these villages have advantages on their service radius yet severe troubles of energy supply, safety, public health and children’s education.
Most of the urban villages near high-value downtown land are being or going to be demolished for the future replacement of commercial development with even higher FAR.  The previous low-income residents have to either leave Shenzhen or move to outskirts of the city.   
Our research considers the following questions:  Is it actually harmful to the city itself to wipe all the low-income populations out of central area?  Will the classification of residential districts cause more urban villages along the urban fringe with more dangers towards slums?  Since service worker is a group that downtown does need among all the low-income populations living in the city, is there a way to keep them in downtown? 
China is exploring and impelling the policy of “new socialist countryside”, we believe that the rural populations who work in city also need practical solutions for their residential spaces.  The low-income service workers in downtown area have the most meaningful “urban character” among them. 
Our study is based on the urban distribution, the working and living models of this population.  We propose here a specific residential strategy for them – New Socialist Worker Apartment (NSWA).  We believe this new high-rise building type can provide not only living spaces for the low-income service workers in downtown area but also places for their basic needs of public health, education, retail and social life.
In our strategic scenario, these NSWA sit within the demolished urban village sites with logic of the service radius of the residence inside.  The land is offered by the socialist government for free and the building can run as a self-sufficient model.  The whole idea is based on the advantage of socialism system and follows the country’s policy of caring people’s vital interests.  NSWA presents the labor force of this low-income population with architectural form and re-maps the city through its pose of anti-marginalization.
Exhibitor：Zhu Xiaofeng + Li Nianzhong
Research Team: Li Qitong, Wu Zhenyan, Zeng Xianzhi, Tian Song