Songyuan House

The Sangyuan House is a contemporary expression of Eastern housing culture that architect Yvonne Liu says is characterized by restraint and a certain humility.  

The building is located in Zhujiajiao. The map of this ancient Jiangnan city is defined by a high population density, which causes individual building units to be arranged in rows. In this case, the building is also sandwiched between two other individual buildings.  

In such a compact urban context, the architecture firm set out to return to the humanistic residential culture typical of the East: the garden builds a landscape and people, upon entering, become part of a work of art; moreover, it is a space of unity, but also results in a certain comfortable distance.   

In this project, the architectural firm operated with humility and restraint, combined respect for the history of the place with an open attitude without asking for anything. Materials were used as light and quiet means to achieve an expression of contemporary culture. 

The principle applied to the lighting is based on the massive use of natural light during the day and the adjustment of artificial lighting during the evening hours to create a soft and warm atmosphere, thereby also achieving energy savings and environmental protection.  

The lighting design considered the functions of the different spaces and the atmospheres that were to be created combined with the technical advantages of the different lighting fixtures used to transform each area of the old house into a kind of unique and comfortable club. 

Large use, therefore, of minimal and extremely flexible recessed luminaires such as the Adjustable Laser and Fixed round Laser in the bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as in some of the passageways. Trick fixtures, on the other hand, emphasize old architectural elements, such as structural wooden columns. iPro projectors highlight sculptural elements near stairwells, generating shadows dear to the Eastern philosophy of light. On some tables, nomadic Whisper lamps create comfortable oases of light.  

Another strongly desired effect is the connection between inside and outside: the green brick pavement of the courtyard continues inside the house. When it rains, water drips down the eaves, wetting the green bricks and moss slowly grows. Thus, one can feel the changes of the four seasons, of the weather and the passage of time. Even the treatment of the window openings was done according to a traditional approach and is an expression of a spiritual quest: looking outward for an inner journey.  

All choices, both of materials and structure aimed to create a sense of comfort and relaxation, sought beyond the desire for novelty. The philosophy of the ancestors is united in an unobtrusive and thoughtful way with modern techniques to create a comfortable contemporary living environment.