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Architects: Yuanxiuwan Architect & Associates
- Area: 240 m²
- Year: 2020
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Photographs:Xiaobin Lv
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Lead Architect: Xiuwan Yuan
Text description provided by the architects. Located in the countryside of Shanghai, the old houses are basically built in the 1980s. Here comes Wang House since the original building is dilapidated, and needs to be rebuilt. We designed the main building as a two-and-a-half-story slope crest structure based on local land regulation and the original house size. The first floor should be controlled at 98 square meters, and the auxiliary building is a flat-roofed structure with one floor, 40 square meters.
There are about 20 families living in the village. Their houses are lying on both sides of the country road. The houses on the south side face wide-spread farms and greenhouses, the houses on the north side are backed by a small river and a forest trail. A bridge links the country road and forest trail. WangHouse is over against the bridge.
Curvedly, we introduce the strip functional zones into the trapezoidal land as a Chinese character shape “弓”. In this way, we enclose a U-shaped courtyard that faces the open rurality. From east to west along with the “弓” shape, on the first floor, we successively layout living room, dining room, kitchen, stairs to the second floor, the incurved gallery, and the bedroom for the old at the end of the gallery; on the second floor, there is a master bedroom, bathroom, the stairs leading to the third floor, viewing studio, the stairs to the first floor, bathroom, and the bedroom (the studio also), which can reach to the loft on the third floor by outer stairs.
From west to east, we arrange the bedroom (the studio also), bathroom, gallery, the stairs to the second floor, and bedroom at the southeast corner. Standing at the center of the third floor, you can see the bridge, forest trail, rurality to the north. To the south, you can overlook the distant villages.
The curved layout with various functions tight the spaces as the strings on a bow and arrow. The scenery outside the window produces dynamic changes on this “trembling bowstring”. Living here, you will own a desire to act. Living here, space has vitality. Living here, you will have abundant life trace with hopes.
The circular skylights with different sizes on the top can not only show you the blue but also close the distance with the universe, seeming to live above the starry sky.
