Renovation Case of a Prefabricated House
A 22㎡ prefabricated house in Yangpu District, Shanghai, achieved efficient renovation of a small-sized unit through functional zoning reconstruction and spatial composite utilization, with core strategies including circulation optimization, vertical space development, and wet-dry separation design.
1. Circulation Reconstruction and Functional Zoning
Before renovation, the house suffered from poor ventilation between north and south and chaotic circulation. The designer implemented a circular circulation design of 'entrance hall - kitchen - dining room - living room (bedroom) - bathroom area - toilet room', transforming the original door opening into a shoe cabinet to create an independent entrance hall as the starting point for subsequent activity paths. For example, the kitchen and dining room adopted an open layout to shorten the distance between cooking and dining; the living room achieved a switch between 'daytime leisure + nighttime sleep' modes through a wall bed design, avoiding the fixed space occupation of a traditional bedroom. This zoning approach created six distinct functional areas within the 22㎡ space, with each area being independent yet interconnected, addressing the core pain point of 'poor toilet and bathing conditions' in the original layout.
2. Vertical Space Development and Equipment Integration
In response to the limitation of the kitchen being less than 4㎡, the designer adopted a high-low cabinet design: a low-level work surface met basic cooking needs, while high-level overhead cabinets extended storage space, with built-in appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers to achieve 'housework circulation integration'. The bathroom area achieved wet-dry separation through a Japanese-style integrated shower room, with a folding door design inside the shower room to save opening space; the toilet room was set up independently, equipped with a smart toilet and a small sink, forming a closed circulation path of 'washing - toileting - showering'. In addition, a drawer-type storage cabinet was set up under the wall bed in the living room, and a folding tabletop was installed on the wall to further tap into the potential of vertical space.
3. Adaptive Renovation of the Prefabricated Panel Structure
As a prefabricated panel structure house, renovation needed to avoid damaging the main load-bearing structure. The designer divided functional areas with lightweight partitions, for example, using gypsum board + light steel keels to construct the toilet partition, ensuring sound insulation while reducing the load. The floor was laid with SPC stone-plastic flooring, whose lightweight characteristic reduced pressure on the floor slab, while its waterproof performance met the needs of the bathroom area. The wall treatment used environmentally friendly latex paint to avoid the weight increase of traditional tiles, and reinforced the spatial hierarchy through color separation design.
4. Ventilation and Lighting Optimization
In response to the poor ventilation between north and south in the original layout, an openable window opening was added between the kitchen and living room during renovation to form a through-draft path; the bathroom area was equipped with an exhaust fan and moisture-proof louvered windows to accelerate moisture discharge. In terms of lighting, the entrance hall used a glass partition to introduce natural light, and the sofa area in the living room could receive south-facing light when the wall bed was retracted. Overall, the 'light borrowing + light supplementing' strategy was used to enhance space brightness.
