Sun Xiefangzheng on the Future of Adaptive Reuse Through Collective Uncertainty

Sun is interested in the renovation and preservation of existing buildings — this is evident both in his professional work on several reuse projects in New York and beyond. Often, he notes that using existing buildings is not only more economically beneficial but also provides a set of constraints that often inspire creative architectural solutions. Most importantly, reusing existing structures significantly reduces material, energy, and effort costs for new spaces — which ultimately represents a responsible step toward a sustainable future.

Having grown up in China, Sun has witnessed firsthand the explosive growth and massive construction campaigns that have transformed Chinese cities since the economic reforms of the 1980s. He began forming his own critique of modern urban planning through the research project 'Phase Collectives,' which he briefly describes with three terms: Bolshevism, FLABBness, and Uncertainty.

If there were one term that could characterize the current state of Chinese planning, it would be Bolshevism. According to Sun, over the past fifty years, Chinese cities have experienced two major waves of planning and construction. The most recent one triggered a widespread state of Bolshevism. Real estate has become one of the dominant revenue sources for local governments after the 1978 economic reforms that allowed commercial use of land. Very large plots of villages or agricultural land on urban fringes are systematically planned and converted into commercial properties. To maximize profit with minimal effort, land is often divided into large lots. The profitable nature of such planning also determines the types of buildings constructed. Most new structures have a single function — whether housing, offices, or retail. Bolshevism buildings are built by large corporations and operated by tenants who are often also part of major companies.

Sun argues that Bolshevism architecture also includes a language of ambiguity. Building volumes, often clad in uniform material or paneling, do not distinguish between internal functions. This indifference is clearly expressed on the facade, allowing buildings to become self-contained entities. The city becomes a series of islands where there is almost no opportunity or desire to form meaningful neighborhoods within itself. High-density closed residential complexes and commercial structures eliminate the intermediate space between collective and individual, and in a certain sense — the collectives themselves. With the loss of their civic functions, streets become merely zones of congregation, almost always fully enclosed. The privatization of public spaces imposes stricter limitations on who can enter and stay, as well as the duration of their use.

Many might be surprised, but the project highlights an earlier typological model opposite to 'Bolshevism': residential complexes built during the planned economy period from the 1950s. Like Bolshevism, these blocks are often centrally built and planned. These small-scale structures represent an era of collective scarcity. Sun speaks enthusiastically about this type: 'I grew up in them and call them with warmth the Five-Level Residential Buildings (or FLABB). They are ubiquitous in any Chinese city and deeply rooted in recent Chinese memory.'

What is interesting to Sun is that FLABBs offer a completely different approach to urban architecture compared to Bolshevism. Areas filled with FLABBs are at a much more accessible scale — buildings themselves are smaller, and streets are narrower. The entire ground floor of these residential complexes over time has become a multitude of restaurants, bars, shops, pharmacies, and others.

The growth of local business formed dense commercial strips. They often do not conform to norms, are overcrowded and compact, but the large number of such shops ensures a variety of options and competition. Most importantly, as Sun notes: 'their small size and density allow for low operating costs, making their products — food, drinks, and services — affordable.'

Contrary to Bolshevism architecture, FLABBs are understandable, accessible, and programmatically flexible. Business content often spills onto the street, further enhancing visibility. The business offered by FLABBs is much more accessible and solid compared to large commercial projects. The basic size of shops within the building directly depends on the size of the residential units that previously existed. Because residential rooms usually have a structural system of load-bearing walls, horizontal expansion is often limited to several structural sections. Load-bearing walls control the scale of business but allow it to develop within defined limits.

Sun's research project aims to change the typology of FLABBness and restore density of activities in city centers. It seeks to achieve this through a series of demolition, addition, and renovation of FLABB typology. At the building level, the hidden quality of neutrality within FLABBness becomes evident. At the block level, previously closed one-dimensional urban forms create porosity and layering.

The project argues that the result is a new state of 'uncertainty' — since buildings become programmatically neutral, the boundary between programs becomes blurred or nearly disappears; demolitions and additions weaken the previous one-sided direction of the block, making it uncertain; most importantly, final outcomes reflect complex concepts of individual and collective within a context that itself is uncertain.

Since Bolshevism and FLABBness are widespread phenomena in Chinese cities, the possibilities for sites are virtually limitless. Nevertheless, Sun chose Beijing as a city of interest not only due to its symbolic significance in policy adoption but also because it has some of the largest urban blocks in China. Many of these blocks are legacies of 'danwei' — state institutions, factories, corporations, or workplaces that provided housing for their employees. Within the Jinshun area, most residential buildings were built with the same 16-meter module. The high repetitiveness of residential complexes makes them ideal for testing various interventions. The project focuses on the sixth section of a larger district. This section provides transversal common conditions, including an east-west street, a north-south street, alleys, and intersections.

With Phase Collectives, Sun proposes a series of demolition, addition, and capture involving five existing residential buildings with point loads. Block-level interventions destroy the existing one-dimensional direction of the neighborhood and introduce layered porosity. At the building level, the hidden quality of programmatic neutrality within FLABBness becomes explicit. Collective courtyards and amenities become collective spectacles.

Specific interventions include:

- transforming existing residential buildings into programmatically neutral structures (drawings 1.6-1.10)

- adding a 'car collector' that can be converted into programmatically neutral spaces

- two-story shops

- adapting already existing unused auxiliary buildings

- collective amenities.

Sun's project is both ambitious and considerate. The adaptations proposed in the Phase Collectives project can be applied almost anywhere in Chinese cities, fully transforming life in these districts with necessary improvements. On the other hand, the project carefully avoided excessive disruption to the original building structure, allowing residents to remain in place during all new operations. Sun Xiefangzheng truly offered a compelling argument for adaptation and reuse instead of demolition and rebuilding.

Mr. Sun plans to continue his career as an architect, creating spaces that are simultaneously climate-responsive and socially just. Follow his work at sunxiefangzheng.com.