Born out of the masculine Karst landscape of northern China, the project transforms a run-down farmyard into a modern home stay. The site as we found it, was an old farmyard at the top of a village. The lot was blasted, excavated and flattened out of the mountain. Its former inhabitants enveloped it with a tall robust stone wall, inside which sat three separate farm houses.

The objective is two-fold: to internalize natural landscape, and to be a part of landscape. The core intervention­, to lower and push out the outer wall, opens up the central courtyard, drawing the mountains in. Pushing and pulling outer boundaries, the design knits man-made structures into the natural landscape.

The project explores a nuanced approach toward the old, enhancing the original structure, through an innovative building method between “dry stone construction” and “dressing”, using locally sourced stones.

Team:
Beijing Zhanlin Construction Engineering Co., Ltd., local masons, local carpenters

Material Used:
1. Facade cladding: Local Limestone, Galvanized Steel
2. Flooring: Microcement
3. Doors: Manchurian Ash
4. Windows: Manchurian Ash
5. Interior furniture: Birch Plywood