Lantern Home — Yao Xiao Design Archive

YAO XIAO DESIGN ARCHIVE

LANTERN HOME

2025 Fall

MICROHOME 10 Buildner Competition

Partner: Ayton Laucks, Qiutong Chu

Project Type: Competition

Because brownfields are left vacant for decades at a time, they present an opportunity to increase the urban housing stock. This opportunity is often missed by developers because the remediation process is often thought of as a linear, sequential process. It begins with site analysis, then remediation, then architectural design, then construction, and each of these is often delayed. This mode of thinking leads to long transition times, inefficient use of money/materials, and excess emissions. While developers aspire to transition quickly, the reality is that these projects take too long and the site is not useful in the interim.

The Lantern House takes advantage of this missed opportunity by combining the remediation process with temporary housing and foundation construction. By drilling caissons at the beginning of the process, remediation systems can access contaminated soil and temporary housing units can be supported - all with little additional cost and risk to the developer. As well, if the remediation or development process is delayed, there will be an existing housing system which can contribute to the community far more than an empty lot. If development is not delayed, these housing units can be removed as easily as they were constructed.

YAO XIAO

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INFO

Yao Xiao is currently a graduate student studying architecture. This website serves as an archive of work and his relating interests.

EDUCATION

Rice University, Master of Architecture
Univeristy of Virginia, Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Minor in Urban & Environmental Planning