Luxury House for Relaxing Amidst Nature - The Flowing Garden

The Flowing Garden is radically different from most of contemporary private houses in China. The owners of the house are two entrepreneur brothers. This 3-acre residential land is rectangular with short sides on the north and south. It leads north to the road and south to the sea. There are some existing buildings on the adjacent plots on the east and west sides. A 30-meter-wide municipal windbreak forest belt of she-oak is densely planted between the site and the beach. It interrupts the direct sea view from the site, but it prevents the bad influence from the strong typhoon.
Except for the land to the south, where the ocean is barely visible through the woods, there are no desirable landscapes on the other three sides. The height of the building is limited to ten meters, therefore overlooking the terrain is not viable. Therefore, the design focuses on the courtyard space and landscaping in the interior space. The climate in Southern Fujian is generally warm. Since the ancient time, the use of courtyards has been the normal practice of local traditional residential houses. The courtyard not only improves the environmental conditions, but also creates the natural division and transition between the leisure and residential space, provoking a sense of continuous spatial flow across different areas. Most importantly, the growth of vegetation over time creates a time and memory bond that would probably meet the owners’ expectation of relaying this space to their future generations.
The next issue to be solved is the positional relationship. Firstly, we divide the site into two because its entrance/exit is on the north side of the road. The north side is allocated for the public leisure space outward, the south side is designated for the private residential space inward, and a shared pond is situated between these two parts. Then the residential part is divided in half into two independent residential units to generate a negative space, which naturally forms a ribbon courtyard between these two units.
The internal touring route, like the long shot, is a time thread that links all the spaces. With vague boundaries of the different areas, it allows the courtyard to flow in between the rooms. Step up the stone stairs at the northeast entrance first, lean in under the eaves, and move through a series of contracting and stretching spatial sequences such as the entrance space, the central pond yard, the ribbon courtyard, etc., then pass through the south side of the buildings to the lower corridor that reaches the terrace, until the whole view is fully stretched out.
The central pond yard creates a peaceful atmosphere. Around the pond yard, a tea room and a grand dining room with the best view are planned. Drinking tea is a daily habit of the people of Southern Fujian, and it is also their traditional way of hospitality. The tea room faces south and the pond yard, with a platform extending to the water, adding a sense of lightness. The inner courtyard behind the tea room strips away the volume of the two-story building on the site’s north, giving the tea space a sense of transparency. The grand dining room holds two round tables for ten people each so as to meet the need of family gathering during the festivals. It can be fully opened on the side facing the corridor, and its back is connected with the inner patio, which enhances the fluidity of the space and the sense of depth. The indoor heated pool is placed in the basement. The sunken courtyard with multiple openings together with the waterscape skylight above the swimming pool bring in ample light. Furthermore, several guest bedrooms are arranged on the second floor to the north side of the leisure part.
Credits:
Name: The Flowing Garden
Location: Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, China
Area: 1,700 sqm
Year of Completion: 2021
Architectural Design: More Than Arch Studio
Photographs: Chao Zhang
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Very very nice ❤