Architect's 'suitcase house' aimed at young people

For Li, home is a place for people to do private things, such as sleeping and taking a shower. Other functional areas can be shared.

"I think people's houses are too big and there are many wasted spaces," Li says.

Besides the vision of living on Mars, the project also explores small housing, especially in big cities.

Li says his "Mars case" can be used by young people, who have just finished college and joined new jobs, as a model for affordable housing. He even infuses a romantic sense to the case that people may realize their nomadic lifestyle by putting the case on a car and move freely around the world.

But the model is "still a prototype", he adds.

"Architecture is a way for me to solve problems that I care about. I keep coming up with questions and allow people to find answers through my works," says Li.

Li is known for his innovative architect in China, such as the UCCA Dune Art Museum in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, and the Tank Museum in Shanghai. He is also working on a building for a tech company in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, that is designed on the concept of "villages in urban areas", a local style of community used to be common in Shenzhen during its urbanization.