Mrs. Fan lives there with her son. They used to live in a one-story house on the site, but it was falling apart. That home was demolished before the Plug-in House's construction. Here's a before and after.
Anyone can construct a Plug-in House "The structure is built without any machinery and does not require specialized labor," Shen says.
Its construction doesn't require much skilled labor, and the panels are cut off-site to reduce cost.
The Plug-in House's construction is similar to that of PAO's Courtyard House, a ready-made retrofit launched in 2016 that updates homes while still preserving historical style.
Unlike the Courtyard Houses, 20 of which were subsidized by the Beijing government, the first Plug-in home was funded by Mrs. Fan.
So far, the PAO has built two Plug-in homes, with plans for more.