These are two lonely buildings of state-constructed apartments
We have a colleague who live nearby
“Do you buy the apartment because it will be pulled down in the future”, asked him
In the past
State-constructed apartment was a solution to the living dilemma
Now it’s faced with the possibility of being phased out or transformed
We wanted to contribute to the transformation of such a housing type
And to renovate it into a new example of housing
We were preparing for getting married in 2018
So we began to search for an apartment
We wanted to live in the downtown
So we circled along the Inner Ring Road of Shanghai
And found a less expensive choice
It’s located in Putuo District and inside the Inner Ring Road
We came here for the first time in early 2019
It was surrounded by high-rises
Which were much more expensive
Seen from the exterior, the buildings were quite different than others nearby
The apartment was built in 1986
It’s as big as less than 40 m2 indoors
The kitchen was L-shaped
Now it’s U-shaped
We enlarged it a little bit
There’s a sliding door separating the kitchen and the living room
When it’s open
It’s like a small bar table
The living room is also the dining room, the party room and the rehearsal room
We met in 2015
In an European theatre class
We both love theatre
It would be quite expensive
To use a professional rehearsal place in Shanghai
So we made the rehearsal room the most important space in the small apartment
Little installations and models
The manufacturing process was quite comforting
There’s a barre
And mirror steel
The magnetic blackboard can be used to draw ideas of stage design
And it can also be used as a screen for projection
This is a magnetic light
You can adjust its position and angle as you like
And the curtains
Which are red velvet, like the stage curtain
I’m really proud that I’m from Shanxi
It’s a silhouette of the great hall of Foguang Temple on Mount Wutai
It’s one of the four Tang-dynasty wooden-structure buildings in China
It reminds me of my hometown
I designed such a table
The supporting parts are made of polyester
And they’re fixed with brass buckles
The table surface is made of density board
There’re grooves on the underside
The parts are put together in a really simple way
When we don’t need the table
The parts can totally can be stored separately beside the wall
The living room can contain as many as 3 tables
And 6-8 chairs
With a small candle lighted
It becomes a bistro
We selected steel windows and marble
Which are often used in repairing old villas
In lots of old villas on Wukang Road
A traditional cement called Shuishuashi is used on the exterior walls
We use it in our balcony, kitchen and bathroom
Through various ways
We tried to change its old look
We keep the balcony
The windows have no frame at all
Wind blows and birds come
It makes us really feel like in the outdoors
We don’t feel disappointed about our apartment
We pay more attention to the community
There’re markets, supermarkets and malls nearby
To the west there’s the playground of East China University of Political Science and Law
One day when I was hanging the laundry
My neighbor said
“Don’t worry. If you are going out for work, just leave me a key”
“I can fetch the clothes in for you”
So sweet
Like the neighbors in my childhood
I’m really interested in small-size apartments
When I live in a hotel, the first thing is to measure the room
And draw the layout
Each hotel room is a small-size apartment
The smallest can only have a few square meters
I’ve designed a cup
With a pattern of Shanghai’s typical apartment layout
I’ve been to friends’ apartments with similar conditions to our apartment
My apartment is small
But there’s space for getting together
A friend said she had been in Shanghai for 7 years
That was her first time to visit one’s home
She felt really happy