In the growing business district of Beijing’s Chaoyang there is a house where the distinction between rooms and spaces isn’t so clear.
20 June 2017
Home Type: Townhouse
The Haitang Villa, from Archstudio, is a three-story townhouse located in a residential area of the busy CBD in eastern Beijing. In this home, the first floor and basement are connected, serving as a receiving area for visitors. This blending of spatial use is an ongoing theme here. For example, while the second floor has been designed for practical daily living with separate entrances and exits, it also serves as a continuation of the home’s theme of blurring the traditional lines between spaces.
For Archstudio, the basic design concept was to use the changes to material palette and space to soften the distinction between different zones. The result is a home rich in layers, and low on the superfluous; a minimalist beauty that carries a natural, simple and quiet living atmosphere.
The first floor is designed around the living and study rooms, with a unique and visually arresting oak grille and shelves to house books and display, and to create a sense of layers with its semi-transparent nature.
The house has a tea room finished in stark gray cement paint, complete with a custom-made concrete table. This ‘grey box effect’ creates a sense of playfulness between scale, and this same approach is carried over into the design of living room and bedroom.
Down in the basement, a bamboo forest in the courtyard creates a connection between interior and outdoor views. The idea of the dome has also been used in the design of the main living area of the second floor, making the interior space inviting and full of change.
Photography by Magic Penny
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