China Overseas • The Dynasty Phase III

The project is located in Ningbo, a city with beautiful natural landscapes and a profound history. Based on the consideration of the city's cultural context and the site's conditions, the architects decided to adopt the pattern of traditional Chinese courtyard houses to configure the spaces, and meanwhile eliminated the drawbacks of traditional courtyard architecture. In addition, the team made use of the 600-year-old tree within the site, and combined it with classical-Chinese-garden landscapes to inherit the cultural context.

The architectural design drew on the typical features of local traditional houses, in order to fit into the lifestyle of Ningbi people. The houses adopted an L-shaped layout, which helped integrate the courtyard with the architecture and let Chinese architectural culture permeate every household.

The architects studied several key elements of traditional Chinese-style architecture and carefully incorporated them into the design, which not only produced a pleasing architectural appearance but also reduced the cost. Set at varying heights, the pitched roofs show a sense of rhythm and echoes with the mountains and spaces on the site, whilst also highlighting a traditional Chinese-style exterior image. As a traditional Chinese architectural element, courtyard walls of varying forms were also created for this project. Moreover, the formal difference of ancient Chinese buildings was subtly embodied in the design of house types within different ranges of floor area.

Architecture is an important carrier for inheriting Chinese culture. Through adopting Chinese-garden style and traditional architectural elements, this project aimed to create a spiritual home for people to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and return to tranquility.