When discussing modernist living, several iconic private residential projects may first come to mind—Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, the Case Study Houses, most notably by Richard Neutra, Pierre Koenig, and Charles and Ray Eames, as well as the glass houses by Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson. Most of these projects exemplified an idealized vision of modern living, set in picturesque landscapes and characterized by experimentation with new construction methods, materials, and spatial concepts. Their designs embraced openness, blurring the boundaries between private and public spaces, largely unburdened by constraints such as density, efficiency, accessibility, public transit integration, or communal considerations.
While these modern homes remain influential in contemporary residential design, they also—perhaps unexpectedly—laid the groundwork for high-density housing principles. Concepts such as the interplay between public and private space, modular construction, and prefabrication, initially explored in these private residences, have been adapted to the vastly different constraints of social housing.
In East Asia, these principles continue to inform the development of large-scale housing solutions in cities like Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, where the demand for efficient, high-density living remains a pressing urban challenge.
Designing for Density: Modernism in Housing Strategies
One of the most notable modernist housing projects is the Siemensstadt Settlement, completed in 1931 in Berlin, Germany, and recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This initiative, developed by a private housing cooperative for workers at Siemens' nearby electrical factory, provided over 1,350 affordable apartments. Designed by a team of renowned architects, including Walter Gropius and Hans Scharoun, the project sought to eliminate traditional block-edge developments and dark, enclosed courtyards. At the same time, it prioritized uniformity—ensuring that all tenants had apartments of similar size, with equal access to natural light and ventilation.
Around the same period, in 1940s Brazil, following the death of Eduardo Guinle—who had commissioned a private mansion surrounded by expansive lawns and lakes—his heirs decided to transform the estate into a residential quarter that embraced modern architectural and urban planning principles. Lucio Costa was selected to design the project, Eduardo Guinle Park Housing, placing a strong emphasis on integrating the existing landscape with residential blocks. However, this commitment to preserving views led to an unconventional east-west orientation for the buildings, exposing their long façades to direct sunlight. To mitigate heat gain, Costa implemented a strategic use of brise-soleil, a shading solution that became a defining feature of the design.
Costa's planning embraced the modernist principle of open layouts, particularly in large living areas, with interior walls primarily aligned perpendicular to the façade. While a traditional double-loaded corridor was not utilized—given, the relatively low density of the development—unnecessary circulation space was minimized, with circulation limited to a compact lift lobby serving two elevators and a staircase. Notably, Costa also introduced a dual-level unit design, separating living and sleeping areas with an internal staircase. Though distinct from the loft-style interiors later popularized by Charles and Ray Eames in their Case Study House projects, Costa's approach laid the groundwork for flexible apartment layouts that continue to influence contemporary housing design.
The post-war period saw an unprecedented demand for social housing. In response, Le Corbusier designed the Unité d'Habitation in Marseille—the first large-scale multi-family residential project of his career. Intended to house those displaced by wartime bombings in France, the design reflected modernist ideals of communal living, efficiency, and the vertical garden city concept. Formally similar to earlier modernist housing experiments, the project maintained core principles of uniformity and shared spaces. A highly efficient unit layout was achieved through a carefully placed, centrally located core, serving a double-loaded corridor that maximized residential density while ensuring each unit had fair access to natural light and ventilation. Additionally, communal spaces were strategically distributed throughout different floors, culminating in an activated rooftop designed for collective use.
Continuing the Modernist Ideals: Contemporary Social Housing Solutions in East Asia
The principles of modernism continue to shape contemporary social housing solutions, particularly in East Asia. Strongly influenced by Western architectural theories and urban planning—especially those developed in the post-war era—cities in the region have adapted and expanded upon modernist ideas. The fundamental approach to housing as an efficient, modular building block, often integrated with well-planned transit systems, as seen in Le Corbusier's urban visions, such as the Radiant City, remains a blueprint for high-density urban development. Initially devised to address post-war resettlement and advancements in construction technology, these modernist principles have proven particularly effective for East Asian cities striving to provide housing for lower-income residents in densely populated areas with a robust public transportation network.
With some of the highest population densities in the world, cities such as Singapore, Taipei, and Hong Kong have transformed modernist housing concepts into contemporary typologies. In Hong Kong, public housing has, before the 2000s, evolved beyond using the apartment unit as the building module, treating entire tower forms as standardized, repeatable typologies rather than just individual units. While these tower designs may not fully respond to various site conditions and consider different community needs, they are very much a direct inspiration from modernist housing principles of duplicating buildings (or towers) across a newly planned town development. These designs—often replicated across different neighborhoods and site conditions—also echo the ideals of projects like the Siemensstadt Settlement, prioritizing equitable access to natural light, ventilation, and efficient spatial planning with minimal vertical circulation cores.
The shared climatic conditions of these cities—hot, humid, and densely built—have necessitated additional considerations in housing design, particularly in maintaining bathroom hygiene and comfort. In Hong Kong, despite the constrained footprints of individual apartments, typologies such as the Trident, Concord, and Twin—planned by the Hong Kong Housing Authority between the 1970s and 2010s—incorporate a key spatial feature: ensuring that every bathroom has direct access to a window to help maintain efficient ventilation without relying on building's HVAC, which are non-existent at the building level in Hong Kong for cost considerations, but only on the apartment level. While improving ventilation, this strategy also results in highly irregular building forms, increasing the surface-area-to-volume ratio and creating the distinct jagged façades characteristic of these housing types.
Although many typologies were developed 30 to 40 years ago, their influence remains visible in contemporary public housing. Efficiency and cost-effectiveness continue to be prioritized, yet there is an increasing effort to balance these factors with residents' quality of life and spatial comfort. Today, social housing developments in the area still follow similar principles. However, Hong Kong's approach—previously relying on standardized tower blocks—has given way to a more flexible strategy that treats the individual unit as an adaptable module. This, in particular, can be seen in Singapore's HDB (housing and development board) housing developments and Taiwan's social housing efforts. This way, housing developments may better respond to site constraints while maintaining core design strategies rooted in modernist ideals.
To ensure a fair and pleasant way of designing housing blocks, a common feature across these typologies is the emphasis on equal access to daylight in individual units and shared spaces. As seen in Taiwan's Hop Yei Community Housing, stairwells and elevator lobbies are positioned adjacent to outdoor spaces whenever possible, ensuring natural light and airflow even in central building locations. Additionally, vertical voids allow daylight to penetrate deep into the building's interior, enhancing the quality of shared spaces. As such, the modernist principles of housing—focusing on efficiency, density, and urban planning—continue to shape how people live in East Asia today.
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: 100 Years of Modernism. Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and architecture projects. We invite you to learn more about our ArchDaily Topics. And, as always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us.
