The Pines House in China by The Design Institute of Landscape and Architecture China Academy of Art (CAALADI) is a renovation project that features a harmonious blend of steel and glass with natural textures of wood, stone and mud. This blend updates existing mud houses into modern, bright and spacious villas.
Located the hills at the altitude of 700 meters in Bamu Field, Jiande Town, Zhejiang Province in China, the home has transformed from the foundation of its owner’s ancestral estate, meaning to cherish the owner’s childhood memory of beautiful moonlight coming through the pine trees in the front courtyard.
The origin: The property owner comes back to the village to bring back the prosperity to the old house, with the help of a design team.
Challenges: Reconstructing two old mud huts and adding three new houses have three major challenges. First, the mud hut almost falls down, and it is very dark inside. Second, the limited movement flow in the architecture and surrounds. Third, a balance between the old and the new.
Drawings courtesy Archdaily
Solutions: The design team uses steel frame structure to reinforce the weak mud walls, and adds huge glass French windows in-between with risen eaves, to deal with the structure stress issue and insufficient light problem. Also, they allocate new buildings accordingly based on the actual context.
Thoughtfully locate all the room entrances at the back side of the building to keep the privacy. Lastly, designers honestly keep the original walls and simply take local wood, rocks and former utensils to strengthen as well as decorate the house, which creates a respectful connection between housing and nature.
Epilogue: The owner has a dream, and we design the best way to make it come true.
