For the real estate developer Vanke’s inaugural design event that explores a pressing architectural theme each year, People's Architecture Office was invited to tackle the “future of housing” through an experimental built work. Installed at Vanke’s headquarters in Shenzhen, the Plugin Tower addresses the insecurity of private home ownership in a country where land is held exclusively by the government and the construction of private homes is reserved for the very wealthy.

The Plugin Tower curtails the investment necessary for building a home since it excludes the risk of losing one’s property—residents can pack up their home and bring it with them if they are ever forced to relocate. Classified as a temporary structure, the Plugin Tower does not require an underground foundation, thereby circumventing the strict planning approval for permanent structures and easing the requirements for building a private house.

A multistory prefab-system that is infinitely expandable, the Metabolist-inspired Plugin Tower consists of a steel space frame that can be assembled in endless variations. Empty bays between the frames are plugged with living units, altered and unplugged when necessary. Units are made with People’s Architecture Office’s proprietary Plugin Panel system, which are modules that incorporate insulation, wiring, plumbing, interior and exterior finishes into one molded part. Panels are attached with integrated locks, easily installed by a couple of unskilled people with just a hex wrench. Unlike shipping containers, Plugin Panels allow living spaces to be added without use of heavy machinery, and do not restrict the layout of the house to the shape of a box.

Highlighting the instability of the state of housing in China, the “future of housing” proposed by People’s Architecture Office is a vision of flexible designs that adapt to changing needs and fluctuating conditions.