L House is a weekend home for a family of three, built on Chongming Island in Shanghai. The old house was built in the 1980s, and the original building needs to be demolished and built in place. According to the volume and area of the old house, combined with the local soil regulations, the first floor should be controlled at 160 square meters, the floor is a two-and-a-half-story slope roof structure, and the auxiliary house is a one-story building area of 60 square meters.
The structure of the old house is a model of the residential space on the island, which is also a common feature of domestic homes after liberation, more satisfied with the two most basic functions of eating and living.
L House design is to create more possible routes and 'excess' space between sleeping and eating.
Chongming Island is linked to Shanghai by a cross-sea bridge. The whole island is like a fish bubble floating in the sea. A Chenhai highway runs through the entire island. Between the rectangular road network are farmlands and nurseries, with buildings distributed on both sides of the road. The residence is on the north side of Hongji West Road, on the north side are nurseries and farmlands in another village.
The site covers an area of about 1,000 square meters, with a road between the houses leading through the nursery to the east and a river and trees to the west, each with its own unique landscape.
The gate is positioned at the south-eastern intersection of the road, avoiding direct conflict with the tense road and visual interference from the nearby buildings. This deliberately elongated line starts at the gate and forms a 45° Angle to the main building parallel to the road. The secondary entrance is set on the east side of the main building and follows this secondary line to the west to meet the active line dividing the inner and outer courtyards.
The whole living space is spread out around the inner and outer courtyards. The inner courtyard is the living room to the north and the corridor and stairs leading to the second floor. The outer courtyard is the bedroom on the west floor, the master bedroom on the second floor and the studio and multi-purpose room on the third floor.
The master bedroom and studio feature a landscaped staircase through a double-height space that protrudes outwards, allowing you to travel between the two Spaces while viewing the outdoor landscape.
The inner and outer courtyards are connected through the 45° axis of the foyer corridor, and the opening of the high and low window holes blurs the boundary between them. The large floor window opened outside introduces the outdoor landscape into the interior. The scenery of the window holes guides the uncertain route, and the wandering and uncertainty let you see the different scenery, leaving the memory of repetition and difference.
Location: Shanghai Chongming
Client: Private person
Design Firm: Yuanxiuwan Architect & Associates
Principal Architect: Xiuwan Yuan
Design Team: Xiuwan Yuan，Zou He，QingRui Wang，He Jiang
Structure&Material: Concrete frame, glass, carbonized wood
Building area: 1000㎡
Site area: 600㎡
Design Period: 08/2016- 06/2020
Construction Period: 07/2017- 07/2021
Photography: Xiaobin Lv，Xiuwan Yuan
