Situated in
Laoshan Forest to the west of central Nanjing city, China International Practical Exhibition of
Architecture (CIPEA) began in 2003 to bring twenty-four renowned international & domestic architects together
onto one site. CIPEA consist of four public buildings
and twenty small houses, in accordance with the brief, the houses should have at least five bedrooms, public
spaces, and hospitality accommodations on 500 square meters.
The Number
Four “Blockhouse” sits on a particularly
valley site, nestling the house into the landscape. In the spirit of a pagoda, four cubic floors
are stacked vertically, allowing for minimal site excavation and land use. The ground floor features living and dining spaces quietly
enveloped in the surrounding forest and overlooking a stream, and a communal
roof terrace rises to just above the trees.
The roof merges into the landscape as another living space, complete
withpool and wooden deck within
the panorama of the forest. The
geometric shape is sculpted from concrete and finished in a white protection
surface.
The concept
of Blockhouse is almost the living attitude of many Chinese: a minimal opening
to the surrounding landscape is the only perforation of the richness inside the
house. The horizontal break of each
floor—in combination with larger unique curved apertures on each floor—frame
vistas in the spirit of Chinese landscape scrolls. Prescribed views have a long tradition in
Chinese art history and traditional Chinese gardens, designed to make the
viewer reconsider
and contemplate the landscape.