In China, huge population and limited arable land resources constitute one of the basic contradictions in urban mass housing design. As a stereotype, medium-rise apartment buildings were constructed to attain high densities all over the country during the 1980s. The extensive use of the housing typologies caused problems in many aspects. This reflects the poverty of architectural solutions and the consequences of the socio-economic systems of the country. / Focusing on the aspects of single building design and site planning, this thesis analyses the methods to reach high building densities in medium-rise mass housing design in Beijing from 1979 to 1990. The study is conducted through the review of the socio-economic issues and the introduction of mass housing design of the country. It intends to see the interrelationships between ways to attain high building densities and the socio-economic backgrounds. / The research indicates that methods to reach high building densities are many. Ways used in Beijing during 1980s were based on the socio-economic system at the time being. These ways are not appropriate in terms of the unique urban context of the city and could be thus replaced by others.

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