Between Mountain and Sea

Located in a high-rise residence along the Kaohsiung harbor, the site overlooks both the port and the silhouette of Shoushan. As the family’s lifestyle evolved, the homeowners— a family of five—sought a space that would no longer suppress their emotional experience of living.
Titled Between Mountain and Sea, the design responds to both the surrounding landscape and family relationships. Through the use of curved forms, it softens the constraints of low beams in the existing structure, transforming a previously compressed visual experience into one of flow. The mountain represents solidity, while the sea represents the movement of light, together forming a space where daily life and shared perspectives unfold.
The social area is centered around the living room, dining area, and kitchen in an open-plan configuration. Curved ceilings articulate layered contours, extending like topographic lines. These forms reduce the presence of structural beams while introducing a sense of upward rhythm.
Wood veneer surfaces are interwoven with titanium-coated metal strips, arranged in irregular intervals to create a dynamic visual rhythm that echoes the movement of mountains and sea. The metallic accents glimmer subtly, reminiscent of distant vessels in a harbor at night.
From the dining area toward the study, double-layered laminated glass and mirrored reflections create intersecting sightlines, allowing visual continuity without full enclosure. At the entrance, a space nearly the size of a bedroom is intentionally left open. Three wall lights define the focal point, while storage is concealed within wood-paneled walls. This space can be adapted seasonally, turning the act of returning home into a ritual.
Light flows across white walls, moving along curved transitions and settling into moments of daily life—the laughter of children and the warmth of shared meals—embedding the solidity of mountains and the openness of the sea into the atmosphere of the home.