J. Lalli Valley Villa A

Bowen Hou

• Architects

On the one hand, we are trying to create a new mountain housing model suitable for commercial development, so as to balance the interests of developers and the residential experience of customers. On the other hand, we have made new explorations on environmental protection and construction technology.

Design Issues

In order to solve the housing problem of hundreds of millions of people, we believe that “dwelling” has no original sin, and it will inevitably go through a long process from low level to high level, from standardization to individuality, from quantity to quality. As China enters the era of stock economy, traditional design and construction methods can no longer meet the requirements of the government and owners, which in turn prompts the team to constantly optimize the design strategy. J.Lalli Project tries to provide an environmentally friendly answer based on technology and efficiency from the background of The Times.

The project is located in the summer resort of Moganshan Town, which has been popular for holidays since the Republic of China. Since the late Qing Dynasty, local buildings have shown their obsession with imported Shanghai villas, and now they gather web celebrity B & B to cater to the trend. Perhaps only the picturesque landscape can be preserved here, so it is our primary choice to protect the mountain to the maximum extent and let the architecture embrace the natural landscape.

Planning Strategy

The planned construction area of the project is 23,410 m2, which consists of an established range of 23 red lines of different sizes that are interconnected. The red line of land use is disordered and correlated with mountain and contour lines, and the mountain is steep with a slope between 22° and 30°. The high volume and steep site conditions present great design challenges. On one hand, the building should conform to the red line of the site, presenting a sense of order in harmony with the forest, neither too out of step nor too rigid; On the other hand, it is necessary to manage the elevation relationship, moving line and landscape view of each household according to local conditions, and deal with the privacy between households to avoid the disturbance of vision, etc., which makes J.Lalli project have the design interface and design density beyond expectations.

For mountain architecture, the relationship between “artificial” and “natural” is always the contradiction. From the Angle of intensive land use, the intensity of development should not be too small. From the Angle of protecting the ecological environment, the intensity of building intervention should not be too large. The project has set the strategy of “high reservation” and “low intervention” since the beginning of design. Taking landscape as the foundation has become the utmost purpose of Party A and the design team. Therefore, we re-divided 23 blocks into four groups with four drop-off squares as the core, thus completing the first definition of site order. This approach solves the density and tension caused by the extremely high building density and the disorder of the red line; At the same time, we deduce nine basic modules according to the common divisor of the red line size, and combine them to form independent blocks. The dense building community echoes the main peak of Moganshan in the southwest, connecting a visual corridor as a whole. The main view of the landscape is also opened up in each block. At the same time, due to the mountain, the buildings in the group are scattered among each other, and each house has its own unique daily landscape.

Based on the overall layout, motor vehicles are isolated at the foot of the flat mountain, and residents are connected to each cluster from battery cars, and then walk into the house through the walkway. From the cluster to the square, then to the walking steps, and finally from the gray space of the courtyard to the interior, the rearrangement of the space brings the necessary sense of ceremony to the transition space between the public area and the private domain, and becomes a neighborhood communication space free from noise. At the same time, each cluster creates a strong privacy, rendering the deep artistic conception of “hidden in the mountains, visible but unreachable”. The platform and walkway between the series of clusters echo the main landscape of the reservoir, creating a romantic scene of “walking by the reservoir and meeting among the mountains”.

Single Building

We do not deliberately imitate the prevailing European style, or the dwellings in the South of the Yangtze River described by Guanzhong Wu, but respect the land by conforming to the natural base. Therefore, the scheme uses stilted buildings and glass curtain walls to create a light and relaxed architectural style, integrating the building into the forest and inviting the forest into the building. The large cantilevered structure minimizes falling to the ground, protecting the landscape and giving the building a floating feel. Overhanging, the native trees are green; above the cantilever, the flat surface brings a unified order to the community.

In terms of external space construction, the space sequence is carefully organized, and the indoor space, grey space and private space add to the interest of the project. We hope that every time we return home is a comfort to the soul. We have created a unique household experience according to the characteristics of the mountain. The plank road twists and turns, guiding the sight, footsteps and mood. The irregular status of the site provides each family with a unique homecoming memory. The natural and artificial seem to be opposite; the building uses the wide terrace and the shading system to form the gray space with rich layers of eaves and verandas, so that the subject and object blend into one. Building and landscape thus form a good interactive relationship: In the vertical direction, the ground floor is closely surrounded by green plants, and the middle floor penetrates the dense tree canopy. The roof terrace connects the forest, reservoir and distant mountain, which is thousands of miles away. In the horizontal direction, the plane unfolds like “一”, and the scene outside the window moves step by step, forming a continuous and diverse view. The “一” plane is only recessed into the balcony on the second floor, forming a more stable and secret scene than open platform, and reaching a similar level of granularity with forest and trees in shape. It is precisely because of the large amount of space between the building and nature, and between the inside and outside of the building, that the immersive occupants feel a strong emotional release at such a density and volume.

In terms of interior details, in order to maximize the landscape, the building adopts a shape ratio of large area, wide area and small depth, and uses the corner to create a 1.5x view of the landscape. The action of opening the door and window can realize the integration of indoor and outdoor space. The French window at the corner strengthens this experience, and the mountain wind comes along with the beautiful scenery. In order to create a flow space, the undefined space in the stairwell and the double-height space in the stairwell are connected with the sunken terrace on the second floor. The space is bent several degrees in the section, and the horizontal and vertical bi-directional expansion space brings more freedom for use. We also use skylights to introduce natural light, large area of French Windows with louvers shading and delicate layout, while ensuring privacy to create a rich indoor light environment and unique bathroom experience. There are no Windows or half-height transverse Windows on the side of the adjacent walkway to ensure the privacy of the indoor space.

Materials and Construction

With respect to nature as the priority, the steel structure with the least sense of environmental pressure is selected as the main structure. Meanwhile, the stone and alloy materials with good weather resistance and low maintenance rate are selected for the maintenance structure. Finally, the dark aluminum alloy lines outline the static and beautiful outline of the building. In the facade design, a large number of far-reaching peripherals are used, with only a small number of pure glass blocks. The peripherals form a soft transition between the original simple and tough building volume and the mountain forest, weakening its pressure on the environment, while the glass boxes mark the location characteristics and spatial memory of the cluster. The carefully selected dark gray burned limestone, dark aluminum alloy panels and wooden grille ceiling create a simple and harmonious overall tone between the building and the forest.

Although the steep mountain brings many disadvantages to the construction interface and material transportation, we still use technology to solve the problems in the construction implementation process, so as to avoid the excavation disturbance to the environment as much as possible. In order to avoid large machinery entering and destroying the environment, artificial digging piles are adopted in the pile foundation of the project. In order to abandon the influence of concrete formwork casting on the site, steel structure is completely adopted in the construction, so that the structure and curtain wall can be installed on the site with prefabricated components. At the same time, we adopt the steel truss floor bearing plate to realize the construction without formwork on site.

Conclusion

Urban and rural areas are not opposites, but now, with urbanization and rural revitalization, they are having an unprecedented dialogue. The highly dense living places are gradually overflowing, and the homogenized texture makes people have more imagination about the secluded life in the mountains. Only by developing its characteristics based on the site and letting the land tell the story of life, can we create a place in the landscape that fits the current life scene and make the design give full play to its maximum value.

Project Information

Location: Deqing, Zhejiang, China

Building Area: 23,410 m²

Design Time: 2017-2018

Complete Date: 2020

Project Type: Low density housing

Design and Technical Team

Designer: gad

Project Director: Yu Jiang

Project Creator: Yu Jiang, Hong Ren, Fengming Ding

Architecture Design Team: Xingjun Zhang, Yuebiao Huang, Yu Yang, Tong Jin, Kunying Ao, Yuan Wang (Intern), Huaying Bao (Intern)

Structure: Yingdong Wu, Di Hu, Xiaoling Li, Qi Zhu, Xiaoyi Du (TongMSK Design), Fangzhong (TongMSK Design), Jingyi Zhang (TongMSK Design), Yu Xie (TongMSK Design)

Water Supply and Drainage: Min Hu, Bo Sun

HVAC: Mingxing Ji

Electrical: Xinhong Tong, Jinhan Chen, Rong Liu

Structural Techniques: steel structure, stilted building, assembly type

Building Materials: stone, aluminum plat, glass