The best architecture is that in which we are not made to feel where nature ends and where art begins. -Lin Yutang
The Center of House – Provide a Space for Family Reunions
What is house? House is our harbor, as well as an extremely inclusive place. It is not only a box containing trivial matters in daily life, but also a place for a family to find various possibilities and joys and form emotional ties. It is like a warm medium reflecting interaction between life and growth, recording stories in the space and conveying personalities and attitudes of inhabitants.
“I want a space for family reunions”-To meet the owner’s expectation of house, we started the house design by setting “a center of house”.
Diffusive Circles – Halos
House design is charming for it infinitely reproduces stories and emotions of inhabitants. We often avoid talking about styles with owners, because we are more willing to describe what kind of person and family live in a space and what interests, experiences and relations each family member has, than to define the style of the space. Rather than “design” a house, we present it and create a poetic living space.
“Circles” are an important spiritual prototype of Chinese culture, enabling us to visually associate it with reunions and contentment, and “round tables” are the most symbolic totem of reunions, both of which coincide with the innermost longing of the Chinese. Therefore, we place “circles” as a basic pattern in the space, which diffuse from the dining room at the center in the image “halos”, to integrate into the whole living space and create a multi-layered spatial structure.
The spaces divided by circles are relatively separate from each other, as well as integrated and built into each other, forming a special sequence to organize and string the spaces. In this centralized spatial relationship, the dining room becomes a bridge for emotional bonds in the whole space, and openings generated by the diffusive spatial structure realizes interaction between interior and exterior scenes, to become a structural representation of a family relationship of coexistence and fusion.
The Look of House – What Kind of Life Do We Want
A city is an open book, which different people read in different ways. -City Reading Notes.
It is the same for a space. Every house should have its own unique highlights, which will diffuse into each space like “halos”. Do not talk about what style of home we need, but tell what kind of life we want.
The design process of “halo house” is a study of spatial construction of a lifestyle, in which diffusive circles were placed as a spatial structure, to create a free spatial pattern, changeable functional paths, and spaces mutually dependent, integrated and coexistent.
∇ Floor Plan
Project name: Halo House
Design firm: PADSTUDIO
Leader designer & Team: Ma Xuexin, Ma Hongfeng, Ma Jiatao
Project location: Shantou, Guangdong, China
Gross Built Area: 350sq. m
Main materials: Oikos Paint, Fanpin, Rock Slab, Timber Floor
Start time: March 2020
Completion time: January 2021
Construction Side: JINSHOUYI Construction
Photographer: RK.Chen
Video clip: Ma Xuexin