An egg-shaped holiday cottage on the Pearl River in China

Since ancient times, in the vast waters and tributaries of the Pearl River in southern China, there has been a group of people living on the water with a history of 7,000 years. They live in small boats all year round, floating in the Pearl River like eggshells, so they are called " Tanka". They are one of the important ancestors of the Cantonese people.

The holiday cottage is located in an inner lake of Zitang Art Town along the Pearl River in Guangzhou. The architectural design takes the space of "Tanka" people's boat living on the water as the architectural prototype, so as to evoke the memory of the era of "Tanka" culture in Guangdong. The building uses unconscious design techniques to subtly evolve a "roll of paper" into a physical space with residential functions.

The holiday house is rooted in the water, hidden in the woods of the lake in the town, and the oval shape of the building reflects a beautiful reflection on the lake, forming a natural artistic effect. The holiday cottage building is divided into three parts: courtyard, guest room and terrace. The entrance is paved with green bricks and surrounded by green bamboo to form a poetic inner courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard, a stone mill and a water tank are arranged. The water flowing from the stone mill falls on the water lilies.

The elliptical structure of the cottage, with its extraordinary structural aesthetics and spatial tension, is supported by an oval-shaped reinforced concrete shell structure, which is thermally insulated by climbing plants on top. The facade of the building is decorated with pineapple grittin, the interior space layout is clever, the living facilities are perfect, and the living atmosphere is warm and comfortable, which realizes the modernization transformation of the "Tanka" boat living scene. The circular interior space opens up views through the skylight on the roof to observe the changes outside. The wide terrace outside the house is like a bow on the lake, allowing residents to have a dialogue with nature, and an open-minded mood arises.