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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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Paradise Found in Habitus #36
AccommodationHolly Cunneen

Paradise Found in Habitus #36

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In a remote part of FUIJAN, China – a far cry from the hustle, bustle and non-stop action of city life – Zhang Junlin and his family are able to seek respite in their remote, yet not isolated, home.


Who doesn’t have the archetypal dream of one day packing it all in and, to borrow a phrase, escape to the country? Put into the context of our regional focus the appeal of the country is met with that of coastal hideaways, rainforests, rice paddies, mountains and the tropics. There is, quite literally, something for everybody and the daydream becomes harder and harder to shake off.

Zhang Junlin works within the realms of the pharmaceutical industry so he, perhaps more so than most, understands the importance of maintaining good health; nourishing one’s self both physically and mentally. The Returning Hut, AKA the new abode he created for himself, his wife and four young children is case in point.

Junlin had been “longing for a natural environment and [simple] life,” says architect Xu Fu-Min of FM.X Interior Design who were responsible for the project. “He had been wishing to own a paradise-like house in a valley far away from the city where he and his family could enjoy a quiet and leisurely lifestyle.” Having engaged Fu-Min’s expertise previously on the design of his new office, Junlin once again enlisted his help.

The home is located is a remote area of Fuijan, China, a south-eastern province renowned for its mountainous terrain and coastal cities. And while romantic connotations of a life lived simply immediately spring to mind, things weren’t quite so rosy for Fu-Min…

Read the full story in Habitus #36, the Nourish issue, out now.

Photography by WU Yong-Chang

Returning Hut FMX.X Interior Design ground floor
Returning Hut FMX.X Interior Design living room
Returning Hut FMX.X Interior Design dining room
Returning Hut FMX.X Interior Design courtyard
Returning Hut FMX.X Interior Design bedroom
Returning Hut FMX.X Interior Design external facade

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Holly Cunneen

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Home 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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