The project base is located in a small village in Shanghai. The site faces the river on the west side, the neighbor's house on the east side, and the light rail passing by can be seen not far to the southeast of the site. When I visited the base for the first time, I was shocked by the idyllic scenery. The light rail station stopped through a green field and entered a path only the width of a car to follow the river and bamboo forest to the base.
The owner lives in the urban area, and the original house is a house from the 1980s of last century, which is old and unbearable. The owner wants to rebuild the house and adapt to the current living habits, hoping to make the parents can live more comfortable. According to the construction method of rural houses, the house is divided into main rooms and auxiliary rooms, the main room is a two-story building, the auxiliary room is a floor, the main room building covers an area of 73 square meters, and the auxiliary room is 30 square meters. Parents hope to have their own house that is three bedrooms, auxiliary room for the studio and tea room, the above is the owner's design requirements.
Due to the small area of the house and the neighboring houses to the south, the south landscape is not very ideal. Based on the study of the site, the design proposes a bold direction. The first is to create a house that maximizes people's perception of the surrounding natural environment. To this end, the orientation, views and distribution of the courtyards were taken into account, and the tranquil and natural atmosphere of the village was created, creating continuity between the interior and the exterior, and preserving the single tree on the site. Secondly, the design needs to make the house appear as spacious as possible, with flowing and open Spaces to suit the simple, elegant and free-spirited lifestyle of the owner, and to explore the quality of space that can satisfy different ideas.
Because the auxiliary room and the main room are separated from each other, the two individual blocks are limited in the existing area and scope, and the architectural form is not complete and harmonious. How to formally link two separate volumes together is a problem to be solved.
Finally, the two building blocks are wrapped in a continuous, circular form in a "Z" shape to form a continuous interface. The roof, which slopes north and south towards the courtyard, not only harmonizes with the roofs of the left and right neighbors, but also adds a distinct character and charm to the owner in a simple and special "Z" form.
The staircase is located on the side of the river to form a large vertical space, creating a rich view for parents to climb up and down, and through the unobstructed large glass to obtain natural scenery from different directions at different times of day. The design of the living room near the inner courtyard is also in order to give the bedroom better sunshine, and it is also hoped that the living room and the studio are closely surrounded by the inner courtyard, so that the public area is more free and open, creating a contrast or continuous atmosphere between the inside and the outside.
The kitchen and dining room is located in the southwest corner, also taking into account the interaction between the indoor dining room and the courtyard facing the river, allowing the kitchen and dining room to extend towards the landscape of the river, enjoying life outdoors during the beautiful season, in this way finding some interesting places and integrating them into the daily life of the residents.
This corner of the second floor, above the kitchen and dining room facing the river to the southwest, is the parents' shared living room, just next to the parents' bedroom. Also with convenience in mind, this quiet corner provides parents with full sunlight and the best views.
The Q house looks like a movable box, like a boat docked on the bank of the river, and runs along the river in a freer direction.
Location: Shanghai Pudong
Client: Private person
Design Firm: Yuanxiuwan Architect & Associates
Principal Architect: Xiuwan Yuan
Design Team: Xiuwan Yuan，Zou He，Chengxu Yin
Structure&Material:Concrete frame, solid wood, preservative wood, glass
Building area: 200㎡
Site area:400㎡
Design Period: 05/2021-09/2023
Construction Period:10/2021-12/2024
