DESIGN NAME: Su Zhou
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Residential House
INSPIRATION: Our inspiration came from two lines of ancient poems about Suzhou. One is from a Song Dynasty poet Su Shunqin's 'The Surging Waves Pavilion', "Feels like a secluded mountain path, but actually within the city." The other one is written by Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong, he composed the poem 'The Experience of the Lion Forest Garden Visit', "Who said that today isn't better than former times, and I just knew that there're a lot 'forests' hidden in many homes."
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: We hope to design the place let the friends from all around the world to experience the real Suzhou, a Modern Suzhou. The majority of the furniture and lamps used in the house are made in and shipped from Italy, although the overall feeling inside still remains the Oriental, Suzhou sensation. This key to the fusion between is the flawless combination between the simplicity of the Italian design and the graceful mood of the Oriental, which as a result paints a picture of a Modern Suzhou.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: We have implemented the white color of traditional Suzhou architecture, both on the exteriors and interiors of the design. The white paint allows the owner easy access for future renovation. Since most of the windows are north-facing, the color white also maximizes reflection, which helps with the natural interior lighting. We have different species of local flowers planted in the garden, which are all easily accessible by the owner for flower arrangements.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The design began May 2014 in Shanghai and completed the design January 2015. All construction and furnishing were complete in June 2016.
FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Interior Space and Exhibition Design
|
PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: 1/The white walls of the living room and the dining room looks extremely level and elegant, due to the use of lightweight steel keels and plaster plates, the wall surface is completely even. The surface of the plaster boards were sprayed with a nozzle instead of being painted. 2/There are also decorative recesses and lines, on the walls and ceilings. Metal brackets were installed in prior processes, thus the lines look clear and straight.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: We have strict requirements on the sizes of materials. For example: The four sets of vertical wooden grills in the living room, which stretches out in the height of 6 meters, we have designed only one seam, which is level to the ceiling of the lower floor. This way we were able to achieve a nice overall aesthetic. There are two mirrored walls in the gym located in the basement, and the mirrors were made to fit the entire wall with no seams at all, which the sizes were 3.5*2.3(m) and 3.3*2.3(m).
TAGS: Quiet, Elegant, Comfort, Fashion, Oriental, New Suzhou
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: Before we started our designing, we studied a book named "Treatise on Superfluous Things" written in Ming Dynasty by Wen Zhenheng, a scholar from a well-known Suzhou family. It is written: "living within the town, one should maintain the elegance of one's house, keep it clean and solemn". It also said "(a house should be a place that) the owners never get aged, the visitors forget to return, and the tourists won't feel bored". This is also the prospect of our designing.
CHALLENGE: The majority of the windows in the house faces north, meaning that there are very little direct sunlight. Thus, the walls and the floors were white throughout the design, that way the most amount of light can enter the house via natural reflection, as well as the fact that the color white of also a common color used in Suzhou traditional architectures. This leads to the meeting of a functional requirement, as well as try local architectural culture.
ADDED DATE: 2017-06-30 16:21:32
TEAM MEMBERS (2) : Creative Director: Guoqiang Feng and Designer: Yan Chen
IMAGE CREDITS: Image #1: Photographer Xuefeng Li, Su Zhou, 2017
Image #2: Photographer Xuefeng Li, Su Zhou, 2017
Image #3: Photographer Xuefeng Li, Su Zhou, 2017
Image #4: Photographer Xuefeng Li, Su Zhou, 2017
Image #5: Photographer Xuefeng Li, Su Zhou, 2017
PATENTS/COPYRIGHTS: Copyrights Belongs to Yan Chen and Guoqiang Feng, 2017
|