Hemp-Town

Abstract

Hemp-Town, located in Ji Xi, China, is a speculative urban design project that positions hemp as the primary economic species, valued for its low environmental impact, high adaptability, and material versatility. This thesis reimagines sustainability within the design discipline through three methods: morphology, analogy/biology, and typology/topography. Mapping oblique visualizes the economic paradigms of the hemp-based town using a color-coded system—orange, green, and purple—embedded in line drawings. Diagraming hemp translates hemp’s fractal growth pattern into a generative logic for urban transportation planning and redistribution design.Massing Ji Xi adopts Chinese characters into the architectural massing design as a formal generator. The thesis critiques estate-based production city models and symbolic urbanism approaches. Rather, hemp directs the design process as both design tool and design object. Through this lens, Hemp-Town offers an integrated framework for rethinking landscape, architecture, and city-making.