Canton House
Location: Wuchuan, Guangdong, China
Function: House
Surface: 240 sq.m
Date: 2016-2019
Mission: Architecture, Landscape, Interior
Client: Parents
Designer: Ziyu TANG, Aiping ZHANG
The project follows the layout principle of the local traditional houses with Three-Bay-Two-Corridors. The central position of the limited site is a three-story height "Ming Hall" with sacrificial function. The so-called "Ming Hall" refers to the hall without a door in the local traditional houses, which is directly connected to the patio. Entering through the narrow corridor, its towering and huge feel are amplified. Non-Daily scale make the concept of “honoring our ancestors and continuous blood” to be reflected in this highly symbolic and redundant space. Due to the short stay time at home, the two families of brothers are in the form of a small single suite, which is arranged in the east and west side of the second floor according to the principle of elder and younger. The parents' bedroom and other daily functional rooms also follow the "Feng Shui" layout and revolve around the "Ming Hall".
The four courtyards juxtaposed with the Ming Hall produce two different atmosphere spaces through different combinations of railings or gables on the second floor: a bright courtyard or a shaded patio, planted with sun-loving or shade-tolerant plants respectively. The Ming Hall is tall and redundant; the space around the courtyard is held relatively low, with the meaning of cornice. The different atmosphere of space high and low, the alternation of light and dark, resulting in profound beauty.
Under the cornice on the second floor, the railings near air position are transformed into stools, and the floor-to-ceiling sliding windows of the bedrooms on the second floor are further furniture. When we open the window, people can sit indoors while swinging their feet outside. The railing becomes a table for drinking tea and reading, these treatments all try to eliminate the opposition between indoor and outdoor, which is the response of basic architecture elements to the aesthetic taste of “Profound”.
Light and dark, high and low, dry and wet, space is dually treated, so that the temperature difference generates airflow, the whole house has a sense of cool breeze. Especially the two shaded patios are the favorite places for workers to stay during construction.