One Quilt Construction Studio | 31 Ping, Shanghai Country House Shanghai

Natural abode in the city

It was humming and the wind stopped, and I had to scatter full green elm skewers, leaping down high branches into the dry dirt, and from the low-flying dragonflies and moths to the wide road. Trees and field orchards, leaping over slabs and high thresholds, as the wind and rain rolls behind, with all your might, creaking and roughing the old wooden door panels, frantically knocking down the plugs and blocking the natural storm out of the door. The date of the outdoor movie and the wait for the rain to stop.

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It was an ordinary summer afternoon in the village of Suzhong in 1990, a memorable reminder of the agricultural era about the fields, production, and place of residence. In the course of rapidly increasing urbanization, while admiring the marvelous scenes of facility upgrades, material advances, efficient connectivity, and rapid expansion, the natural, balanced, deep, streamlined, creative and adaptable, exhilarating and continuously collaboratively created landscape is disappearing, and its core The true effects of traits on sustainable living environments are ignored as underestimated or misused constraints. Orthodontic, excessive, redundant, piecemeal, and rigid aesthetics and methods disguise the excitement and amazement of the outerwear, masking the appearance of the real purpose, forcing the formation of a monotonous uniform and checkered “plastic rose” with an extremely short cycle.

In transition, the urbanization process for more than thirty years ended up moving into a transition phase that paralleled structural adjustment, inventory renewal, and rural revitalization. “Country Home” recalls the romantic and positive qualities of agricultural life, experimenting with the technical framework of urban life to remove tedium and reintegrate nature into the technical framework of urban life.
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The original house is a typical 2000 terraced multi-storey house with a base floor of 100 ㎡ and a small courtyard facing south of 30 ㎡. The typical usage of this type of dwelling is transformed by the cross-application of methods such as indoor-outdoor scaling, creating transitional spaces, uneven ground, light dimming, dimensional variation, and spatial adaptability design.
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Field

The first project was to remove the threshold of the original hall to the courtyard, set a floor step outside the window of the original main bed and add a rain shelter. The courtyard and the two parts were integrated into an 80 ㎡ outdoor space that is free to explore, without excessive care, which we call the field. In terms of scale, the indoor-outdoor area has been transformed. THE FULLY FOLDED SYSTEM DOORS AND WINDOWS ARE CLOSED ONLY IN EXTREME WEATHER SUCH AS RAINY RAIN. IN EVERYDAY USE, IN ADDITION TO CHAIRS, FLOORS AND CARPETS, THE PLACE IS FULL OF VEGETATION, SUN, WIND AND VARIOUS INSECTS. THE NATURAL GROWTH LENDS A FRESH AND TIMELESS CHARACTER TO THE RUSTIC ENVIRONMENT.

The huge open spaces encourage a range of activities such as woodworking crafts, furniture painting, picnicking, long table picnics, yoga fitness, listening to rain under the canopy, reading in the woods, playing cards, drying clothes, mulching, grass trimming, fruit harvesting, and more. Two huge lift projections bring back the open-air movie scene. The black backlight plate also serves as an efficient shading adjustment device. Two high hanging triangular acrylic lamp-shaped constellate moons. It is also a cat's paradise. The everyday scene is no different, with people merging through normalized adaptive transformations and deep connections between nature and home. The act itself attracted the attention of the neighborhood and the key plant, and while around the fences and floors, people began to discuss construction methods, potting experiences, neighborhood living and affairs, and the home became a place of trust, giving, and identification, rather than prisoners of isolation and form.

IN TERMS OF CRAFTSMANSHIP, THE INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR ARE PAINTED WITH RICE YELLOW MATTE TILES, THE WALLS ARE COVERED WITH LIGHT BROWN INORGANIC PLASTER, THE AGING WALL TILES ARE RE-COVERED WITH THE SAME COLOR PROTECTIVE PAINT, AND THE STAINLESS STEEL BAR REMAINS AT THE SAME HEIGHT REINFORCED WITH EARTHY YELLOW POLYURETHANE HOLLOW BRICKS. Stimulating complex forms of color give the transition to a simple gentle atmosphere to match the relaxed natural state.
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Dōya

The square restaurant in the original entry area was raised 18 cm high and five touches extended in five directions, creating a sequence of transitions from outdoor to indoor. A total of 25 ㎡ is windmill shaped on the floor. We call it a log house, and the field is separated from the field by a large, light card painted offset revolving door. There are steps and slopes from the field into the log house to the rest of the rooms, and the whole floor is not level, so this transitional spatial sequence is more perceptual rather than visual by the shift of foot pressure. There is no simple transport space, the place facing the field combines the original color Nakajima Dai with an open dining table, an everyday dining table that can be done with simple Western food production, can serve wine and coffee for outdoor activities, as well as a work desk and discussion table. The slope also houses a set of deep bronze lacquered ironwork open hangers and a dressing table, which is also ideal for quiet solo work.

A desert-colored transparent resin basin is located on the part of the toilet, facilities such as refrigerators and dryers are densely arranged to the kitchen area, shoe cabinets and wireless equipment are located towards the entrance door, while a floor and a niche in the central area are suitable for reading, tea and rest. Nakashimadai is often used as high benches, stairs are used as a viewing platform and a very difficult propping position. The ramps are a racetrack for cats and full of fun. THE LODGE IS SMALL IN SIZE, THE LEVELS ARE MULTIFUNCTIONAL, AND SCENES SIMILAR TO FILM AND DEPTH OF VIEW OFTEN APPEAR IN EVERYDAY LIFE, A SPACE THAT IS ACTUALLY COMPRESSED AND PARTITIONED, VISUALLY AND USEFULLY ENLARGED AND EXTENDED.

Although not intended as a design goal, there is an interesting result presented with the creation of uneven ground and transitional spaces. The door and window openings in the field area are up to 2.4m high and wide, and the doorway in the lobby section is only 1.8m high and smaller in width, and the size varies with the arrival and fall of Xu Xu. Slightly elevate the view from the north side of the house, magnifying the perspective, and the space is deep and distant and dark. Looking back from the log house requires a slight overlook, the perspective effect is offset, and the courtyard is bright and green in front of you. A variety of irregular scales and visual deviations move the subtle senses of change, deepening the impression of space.
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Rooms

The remaining 25 ㎡, including a toilet, a Chinese kitchen and a bedroom, is a real private room. The toilet and Chinese kitchen are small and minimalist, while the bedroom integrates beds, lockers, air conditioning, lights, curtains, and TV projections into a set of furniture that is high and low. All heights can be reclined and projected in all directions, and the vast majority of picnic table chairs, instrument sounds, mattress pads and household items are stored here, allowing for extended use and modification of the field and hall.
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Light and Dark Adjustment

If we look back on memorable moments in natural life, there are bound to be moments associated with light. On a blazing day, the specks poured from the crevices of the dense forest, the white moonshine strewn in the field, fireflies dance in the dark, and phosphors roam the graveyard. Dark shadows stand far away from the building, the wind fluttering in the silhouette of bamboo leaves on the skylights, the bee-pierced brick wall at dusk, broken branches and cutouts in the doorway, light and shadow coalesce, alternating between day and night. Country houses seek such a balanced light and dark atmosphere. The field is well lit during the day, the light spots vary widely, and two floor projection screens are used to adjust the light. It is generally dim at night, with only two stars as high as two stars rendering the 80 ㎡ large space, clearly marking the arrival of night, which is also the only place in the whole house with direct lighting. The entrance hall and the rooms are deepened and the daylight is soft, and the effect of total darkness can be achieved through the closing of the door fan. At night, all lights are filtered and directed by plasterboard or light coffee-coated aluminum sheet, simulating natural light entering the scene in various forms from different angles and heights. The individual lighting power is not high, but the number of individual lighting can be changed as needed. From the courtyard, through the deep dark fields, country houses swaying with lights in the immediate vicinity.
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Adaptive Adjustment

Leaving aside the lengthy arguments and discussions about the gains and losses of commercial housing, from agricultural life to today's urban housing, some of the characteristics of sustainable housing are summarized as follows: the form of housing should be adapted to meet real needs, rather than forcing the sale of commodity attributes on the face of thousands of people or floating on the surface There is no hint of a serpentine style. Only by confirming basic identity, diversity can be preserved, and lasting vitality is possible. Its vision is never overstated, and the structure strives for simplicity, avoiding unbalanced purposes and unnecessary refinements that harm the natural process of hair growth. In the basic architecture, it is imperative to preserve an undefined location with a “field” attribute, not only through highly connected and deep experiences that occur through everyday life and home, but also with the drive to inspire creativity, continuous change, and feasibility. Sustainable homes are not completed at the beginning of construction, but are perfected day after day in adaptive adjustments, eventually obtaining a relatively long and near eternal cycle.
The creation of the country house is just beginning.

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Project Information

Project Name: Country House

Project Type: Architecture

Designer: Shanghai One Quilt Construction Studio

Project Design: 2023

Completion year: 2024

Design Team: Yao Wenxuan Long Huiyan

Project Address: 1169 Hongjiang Road, Shanghai

Building Size: 103 ㎡

PHOTO COPYRIGHT: LONG WAI YAN

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