Description

Wrapped in a partially open brick structure able to filter in light and wind, this house features a floor plan figure that can be described as a sequence of rooms meandering around four patios. The path is the space: in the center, it widens to form a living room extending from one side to the other and then branches off into spacious hallways on the sides. One hallway leads to the bedrooms, kitchen, and entrance, another one to the toilet, animal stall, and biogas unit. Each patio courtyard is given a specific use to complement the surrounding interior spaces: as a vestibule, washing, working, or planting courtyard. In the latter, a staircase ascends to the large roof terrace with stepped seating and rainwater reservoir. Against the backdrop of the massive population migrations to large Chinese cities, this model house attempts to lend new vibrancy and appeal to life in the countryside. By implementing sustainable technology such as a biogas unit powered by pig manure, a rainwater reservoir, a solar thermal water heater on the roof, planting courtyards, and a plant-based water filtration system, it is also an example of the trend toward supply autonomy. Simultaneously, its use for the production of local artisanal crafts reinforces both the village community and the local economy. The meandering floor plan of this house as a space-defining principle remains transferrable to other contexts.

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Originally published in: Oliver Heckmann, Friederike Schneider with Eric Zapel (eds.), Floor Plan Manual Housing, fifth revised and expanded edition, Birkhäuser, 2018.