WuSheng

The unit was pre-owned and originally consisted of 1 living room, 1 bathroom, and 2+1 bedrooms. The new homeowner is a Peking opera actor, and he wanted to transform this space into a place that can serve both as his residence as well as a studio.



The design of the space takes into consideration the characteristics of the homeowner and attempts to strike a balance between the old and the new, stringing together authentically old and retro looking elements with modernity. Public and private areas are completely separated, so that the homeowner can focus on more introspective aspects of his life, such as applying make-up, taking a bath or steam shower, and practicing calligraphy in the comfort of his personal space, and regardless of how chaotic or distracting the outside world is, he can still maintain a peace of mind in his inner realm.



The public area is completely separated by a trap door and can be further divided into an entryway, audiovisual area, open kitchen, and a long table for work-related meetings. There are also two old, wooden cabinets left behind by the homeowner’s grandfather. One was repaired and now serves as a bookshelf in the working area; the other was repurposed and used as a platform for a vinyl record player in the audiovisual area. All seating in the audiovisual area comes in the form of occasional chairs, which are more portable and can be easily moved around to make way for the homeowner to practice his opera dance steps.