House of Views draws inspiration from the Classical Gardens of Suzhou, reinterpreting centuries-old Chinese landscape principles through a contemporary architectural lens. Conceived as a series of pavilions arranged around internal courtyards, the house reflects key Suzhou ideals such as curated scenes, spatial thresholds, and borrowed views.
Instead of placing a singular home within a large garden, the design inverts the conventional relationship between architecture and landscape. The house is envisioned as a composition of distinct volumes, or "boxes," that enclose and frame a sequence of intimate garden pockets. This approach allows nature to permeate the architectural experience, blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces.
A tall pavilion at the entrance introduces the idea of threshold space—a defining feature of the project. Upon arrival, visitors follow a granite path flanked by a koi pond, leading to a cantilevered stair that rises to the second-floor entrance foyer. From this elevated position, a carefully composed view reveals the central pool and olive tree, framed by a grand portal. This portal leads to a sculptural staircase and internal garden, reinforcing the sense of journey and spatial layering.
Large glass panels in the living areas slide fully into corner walls, opening up to reveal panoramic views and dissolving the boundary between inside and outside.
The basement level serves as a family entertainment zone, with a games room and kitchen opening onto a sunken courtyard. This courtyard is both a theatrical focal point and a climatic device, bringing natural light and cross ventilation to the lower level.
The house adopts a monochromatic material palette inspired by Chinese ink paintings, using black, white, and grey tones to reflect the understated elegance of traditional gardens. Architectural elements such as whitewashed walls, framed views, and sculptural landscaping reference Suzhou Garden aesthetics.
The massing is kept narrow and linear, allowing for north-south cross ventilation and consistent natural light. Strategic gaps between volumes act as wind corridors, while east-west facing walls provide solar protection.
House of Views is a dwelling that emphasizes transition, spatial layering, and sensory experience, where movement through the home becomes a choreographed journey through space, light, and landscape. What emerges is a spatial narrative that unfolds gradually with each step, each threshold, and each carefully framed glimpse of sky and greenery.
