MANCHAN DESIGN | 102 FLOOR, SHANGHAI DOWNSTAIRS VILLA - BOTANICAL HOUSE SHANGHAI

Located in a quiet residential area in downtown Shanghai, Plant House is a low-rise villa. The owners of the house are a couple who love life, a rich couple and a three-year-old son. The husband loves fish and studies plants. He wants to let plants live in his home and become a landscape scene everywhere in his life; his mistress loves to cook and wants to have an open kitchen space where he can share food with his family.

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Entering the interior from the north side, you can see the green, tree-lined garden on the south side. The designer opened the floor where the living room was originally located on the first floor, let the sun from the south garden into the atrium of the ground floor through the floor glass windows, and transformed the sunny glass room on the east side into a sunken interior view pool, complementing the negative level Illumination of the corner space. On one side of the corridor leading to the master bedroom is a glass porch, where you can see the view between the basement study and the video room; on the other side is the washroom, which is surrounded by sun and greenery in front of the washstand, so that the user can have a pleasant mood from the morning. The main function of the first floor is the bedroom. In order to create a sense of open and flowing space, the designer has set up a circular traffic flow, connecting the master bedroom and the accompanying bedroom, the household area, the entrance hall, the second bedroom and the children's room and the suite around the atrium space where you can see the restaurant.

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Taking into account the changes in children's growth, children's spaces try to unify most of the space for the future with active furniture and soft furnishings, hardwood materials and the overall clean and fresh style of the whole house. The original staircase was lowered from the closed northwest corner to the center, making it easier to live on the negative first floor and living space on the first floor. The staircase space has an open design, thin metal handrails and suspended steps that soften the stair's sense of volume, make it visually lighter and more transparent, while increasing space longitudinal connectivity.
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“Please come in, sunshine!”

When the floor is open and all the light partition walls are completely removed, the space on the ground floor becomes open, and abundant natural light shines through the floor glass, enveloping the main place where social activities take place in warm, lazy light. The kitchen is located on the west side of the basement, and a 4-foot-long quartzite operating table and a 3m long bar counter offer the possibility of a family cooking scene together. The operating table is between the built-in cabinet refrigerator and hidden storage. The north wall has custom-made closed cabinets to complement the storage, and an attractive fish tank is installed in the center, and the cabinets use light oak material consistent with the kitchen, giving the space visually more complete continuity. The living room has the best view of the courtyard with floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors throughout. The rock material of the outdoor patio wall continues into the interior, creating a link between the interior and the exterior. The layout of the living room embodies the unique taste of the user and the style of the inhabitants. “Not just because it's beautiful, but because it feels crooked if it's changed to something else.” The sofa belongs to the Ploum series of the French brand Ligne Roset, moved from its original home to a new basement living room, and the owner's love for it is visible. The newly added two single sofas belong to the Togo series under the same brand. The combination of bright and neutral colors makes the atmosphere of the living room a lot more active.

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Behind the living room is the husband's study, originally the darkest corner of the entire house. After the transformation, the sun drifts from the open patio and falls on the husband's carefully selected plants. Faced with vibrant plant pots, working from home during the pandemic has also become much easier. Flexible electric blinds can also make the study quiet and private when you don't want to be disturbed. The essence of the design of the plant house is to create a living space for the homeowner with the main purpose of warmth and comfort. Designed to meet everyone's usage needs, while introducing enough natural light through the underground space, homeowners can feel the change of season and sunshine in every corner of the home, and enjoy the comfort of light and greenery.
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Project Information
Project Name: Living with the Plants in the Basement
Design: Manyo design
Project Design & Completion Year: 2019/2021
Founder & Design Team Lead Designer: Lee Meng Jiewen Editor: Tse Zhao, Pu Tengyu
Project Address: Shanghai, China
Building Size: 340 m2
Photo copyright: studio FF
PARTNER: SOFT FURNISHING STUDIO IN WILD PLANTS
Client: Private Owner
Brand: SOMEN Custom, Benjamin Benjamin Moore, Flos, Ligne Roset
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