Half Architecture

Half Architecture is one kind of design method we take, trying to balance modern lifestyle and traditional craft in construction project. Architects only do part of a design to optimize critical problems and left the rest to local builders. Therefore, traditional craft can be developed and evolved during modern construction.

Triangle Site

Located in Dayan ancient town,Lijiang, China, the 35°triangle site is only open to Wenhua Lane and blocked by adjacent buildings in the other two directions. In local dwellings, rooms connected by corridor are normally closed to street,while with doors and windows open to inner courtyard. Due to this layout, residents are severely disturbed by noises. Therefore, outward rooms are distributed in Triangle Hotel as many as possible and corridor is isolated from rooms to avoid pedestrians’noises.

Wood Structure

After the architectural research of space layout, local Naxi-nationality construction team takes over the job. After calculating, cutting, processing and labelling all wood components in workshop, they start to join them together in a lucky day according to Naxi Calendar.Wood structures with 357 pieces of components are erected and assembled barely by hands in one week without machinery and any drawing instructions.

Real Material

Exterior walls with black bricks made by local factory, give a coordinated street facade to public space. Interior walls in white painting without plaster completely remain the touchable texture of the bricks. With series of interior lighting, varnished roofs without ceilings give residents an actual impression of wood structure system. Equipment wires and pipes are hidden in structure to avoid material destructionsuch as grooving. Benefiting from appropriate utilization of materials, the final investment of this hotel is only $375/m2, including structure construction, interior decoration, equipment and furniture purchases.

Narrative Detail

Most detail problems in this project are pointed out by architects and solved by local builders with traditional craft and experience. In order to give enough space for roof drainage at the place where two roofs join together, the builders replace one wood girder with twothough a slotted wood support on the top of each column. Falling from roof groove above the main entrance, rainwater flow through courtyard and hollow brick walls into existing drainage system of the ancient town. Communication between nature and architecture is narratively presented by this series of details.