Afternoon Overture

Hangzhou, China

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Afternoon Overture

Hangzhou, China

Firm

MORE DESIGN

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2025

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

BUDGET

$10M - 50M

Human-centered design innovation through residential lens
Situated amidst the poetic landscapes of Liangzhu, Hangzhou, this residence draws inspiration from its mountain-water setting and Neo-Impressionist aesthetics of Georges Seurat. The architectural intervention employs "spatial pointillism" to reconstruct contemporary living narratives.

Meticulously addressing the occupants' family structure - a couple, their overseas-educated daughter, and two preschool-aged sons. Through vertical spatial orchestration, the design reconfigures the programmatic framework to achieve dual experience of comfort and aesthetic appreciation, where functional zones fluidly interact with artistic installations.

The design transforms the original basement into the dwelling's central social stratum, integrating a reception hall, foyer, art gallery, and piano alcove to create a hybrid residential space balancing ceremonial elegance with casual comfort. Simultaneously, the reconfigured ground floor evolves into private living quarters, achieving physical separation between active and tranquil zones through spatial reconfiguration.

This design approach precisely addresses high-net-worth East Asian families' essential demands for "sunlight permeation" and "symbiosis with nature," translating occupants' personal characteristics into spatial attributes. The result is a harmonious, warm, and comfortable living environment that embodies poetic habitation.

The circular layout creates a 60-meter-long spatial circulation path that connects functional zones while facilitating intergenerational interactions. The incorporation of cross-floor acoustic dialogue installations strengthens familial bonds through playful engagement.

Usability-focused spatial articulation

The spatial framework embodies a "universal adaptability" philosophy, strategically orchestrating three-dimensional circulation to maximize functional synergy. Vertically, a dual-entry system organizes the program: subterranean zones anchor communal vitality with social hubs, while ground-level volumes prioritize intimate retreats. Horizontally, a curvilinear pathway interlaces study alcoves, fitness nodes, and leisure pods, creating choreographed intersections between children's exploratory routes and adults' ritualized movements.

Discreetly integrated acoustic portals maintain spatial autonomy while facilitating emotional resonance across domains. Craftsmanship manifests through digitally sculpted elements—BIM-optimized petal-shaped ceiling vaults and precision-engineered bronze detailing—where industrialized prefabrication techniques elevate bespoke artistry. This meticulous synthesis dissolves boundaries between ergonomic intelligence and spatial poetics, achieving a symbiotic balance between pragmatic functionality and sculptural articulation.

Aesthetic construction
The design orchestrates a contemporary living tableau where Eastern and Western aesthetics converge as its visual leitmotif. A chromatic system derives poetic inspiration from the female homeowner's floral namesake, transmuting botanical morphology through parametric design into floor mosaics and ceiling reliefs that weave a biomorphic spatial narrative. Materiality unfolds through a strategic interplay of stone, hand-forged copper, and biomimetic surfaces—sculpting metropolitan opulence in communal zones while enveloping private quarters in textile-clad warmth.

Light choreography harnesses expansive glazing and skylight arrays to diffuse sunlight across vertical planes, casting kinetic light patterns that evolve with celestial rhythms. This luminous dialogue between architecture and nature crystallizes spatial experiences imbued with temporal depth, where crafted geometries and organic ephemerality coexist in harmonious counterpoint.

Sustainable development practice

The project champions adaptive reuse principles, extending architectural longevity through strategic structural interventions. Vertical spatial augmentation reinvents basement layouts to enhance functionality while amplifying daylight permeability. Daylight harvesting systems synergize with intelligent modulation technologies to minimize artificial lighting demand. Prefabricated construction methodologies streamline workflows, curbing material waste and optimizing timelines. Guided by symbiotic ecology, the design engages its mountainous context through choreographed interventions—topographic dialogues and native vegetation preservation coalesce into a low-impact green paradigm. This architecture of restraint manifests sustainability through spatial humility, where human habitation harmonizes with geomorphic intelligence in a calibrated environmental ballet.

Exportaiton of residential culture in Asian

Rooted in East Asian familial values of collective harmony, the project reimagines contemporary cohabitation through a circular circulation system that fosters continuous togetherness. The design orchestrates an interdisciplinary dialogue between Art Deco vocabulary and digital fabrication techniques, translating cultural essence into modernity through tactile materiality and geometric precision.

Spatial scenarios dissolve generational divides with seamless choreography—interwoven zones for children's exploratory paths and adult social hubs cultivate an atmosphere of autonomous yet interconnected coexistence. This architectural narrative articulates Asian domestic wisdom through spatial syntax, establishing a culturally resonant paradigm within global discourse. By harmonizing ancestral principles with progressive spatial logic, it crafts a living manifesto that celebrates identity while transcending geographical confines.

This visionary project harnesses design innovation to catalyze multidimensional value creation. Proprietary craftsmanship in petal-form ceiling modules and acoustic engineering innovations establish technical exclusivity, elevating market competitiveness through bespoke artistry. Simultaneously, community engagement frameworks and architectural retrofitting protocols foster social reciprocity and neighborhood cohesion. The development of sophisticated circulation systems and universal accessibility solutions redefines luxury residential benchmarks. By orchestrating equilibrium between functional refinement, cultural articulation, and commercial viability, the design collective pioneers a prototype where spatial intelligence transcends mere aesthetics. It establishes an innovative benchmark that harmonizes cultural identity with technical sophistication for contemporary Asian living, demonstrating how architectural ingenuity can simultaneously serve as cultural ambassador and market disruptor in the global design arena.

Project Name: Afternoon Overture
Location: Zhejiang Hangzhou Shangri-la
Design Company: More Design
Chief Designer: YuanMU
Assistant Designer: Ma Haisen, Zhou Xiaoyu
Soft Outfitting: Li jiajia
Area: 1100
Cost: 12 million
Design Cycle: 2022. 09-2022.12
Completion time: 2025.01.18
Main Materials: Stone, Painting,Wooden,Metal
Client Name: Mrs Hua
Photographer: Hanmo Vision

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Afternoon Overture

Hangzhou, China

Afternoon Overture

Hangzhou, China

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team