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Issue 59 - The Life Outside Issue

Issue 59

The Life Outside Issue

Introducing the Life Outside issue of Habitus magazine. With life increasingly being absorbed into a digital space, there is never a more important moment to hold something tangible. In this context, the power of nature to have a physiological impact on our sense of wellbeing has never been more important. So how can we cultivate the benefits of the our natural environment in the most intimate of places – our homes? This was the question that helped to bring this issue of Habitus to life.

A Product of

Blurring Traditions in Beijing
HomesAndrew McDonald

Blurring Traditions in Beijing

China

In the growing business district of Beijing’s Chaoyang there is a house where the distinction between indoor and out isn’t so clear, and where architectural forms play off one another.


The Haitang Villa, from Archstudio, is a three-story townhouse in a residential area of the busy CBD of eastern Beijing. The design of the townhouse sees the first floor and basement connected, serving as a receiving area for visitors. This blending of spatial use is an ongoing theme of the home. 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 concept of the design for the townhouse was to use the changing of material and space to blur the boundary between indoor and outdoor spaces. The result is a home rich in layers, and low of superfluous flourishes; a minimalist wonder that doesn’t sacrifice designer charm in a pursuit of less is more. The home serves as a natural, simple and quiet living atmosphere.

006-Tea-Room

 

The first floor is designed around the living and study rooms, with a unique and visually arresting oak grille and shelves used to meet requirements of book collecting, exhibition and display, as well as creating a sense of layers with its semi transparent nature.

The house tea room is finished in stark gray cement paint, complete with a custom-made concrete counter and table top, contrasting the grey box aesthetic and resulting in a sense of playfulness between scale. This design aesthetic is carried over into the design of living room and bedroom.

For the basement floor, the designer reintegrates the relationship between the sunken garden and interior spaces, where a bamboo forest in the courtyard creates a conversation between interior and outdoor views. The idea of the dome has been used in the design of the main living area of the second floor, softening the relationship between the roof and the wall and making the interior space inviting and full of change.

Archstudio
archstudio.cn

Words by Andrew McDonald

Photography by Magic Penny

001-Dining-Room
002-Entryway
003-Study
012-Small-Dining-Room
010-Guest-Room
018-Sunken-Courtyard
020-Living-Room
021-Living-Room

About the Author

Andrew McDonald

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ArchstudioHome ArchitectureHouse ArchitectureResidential Architecture


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Issue 59 - The Life Outside Issue

Issue 59

The Life Outside Issue

Introducing the Life Outside issue of Habitus magazine. With life increasingly being absorbed into a digital space, there is never a more important moment to hold something tangible. In this context, the power of nature to have a physiological impact on our sense of wellbeing has never been more important. So how can we cultivate the benefits of the our natural environment in the most intimate of places – our homes? This was the question that helped to bring this issue of Habitus to life.

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