The project is located in a traditional village in Zhejiang Province. Surrounding it are low-rise traditional dwellings with sloping roofs, white walls and gray tiles. The dense buildings and narrow lanes form a unique rural texture. The north side of the site is adjacent to a passable path, while the other two sides are narrow pedestrian lanes. The client’s needs are simple yet challenging: the house must face due south, have sufficient sunlight, and its construction area must exceed that of the original old house. This is difficult to achieve in a high-density rural environment — the site is rectangular, but its long side is not north-south. Arranging the building along the plot boundary will inevitably affect the lighting of the main living spaces and the courtyard area.

Centered on the "orientation" requirement, the design divides the homestead into two parts — building and courtyard — along the diagonal, forming a balanced 1:1 pattern that implicitly conforms to the concept of yin-yang interdependence. This ensures that core spaces such as the living room and the elderly’s bedroom face due south. The triangular building volume is thus naturally generated, breaking the original rectangular order and forming a unique form through adhering to the orientation requirement, rather than being a deliberate stylistic expression.

The residence is designed for a four-generation family, but only two elderly people live there permanently. The spatial organization is carried out around the actual frequency of use. The first floor concentrates the main daily living functions: the living room, dining room and tea room form an open and continuous public space, with the elderly’s bedroom and kitchen arranged on both sides. The compact circulation reduces the burden of the elderly climbing up and down stairs. The second floor reserves a complete residential unit for family members returning to their hometown occasionally. Two master bedrooms with independent bathrooms ensure basic comfort and privacy, and the other two children’s rooms are close to the west side, sharing the bathroom at the end of the corridor. This layout not only responds to the traditional family structure but also respects the actual living frequency. An open viewing platform is set on the roof, which can overlook the mountains and fields, realizing the extension of vertical space.

The courtyard design abandons the traditional large courtyard and is divided into three small-scale spaces: the south-facing sunny courtyard is for the elderly to sunbathe, plant and work; the tree courtyard forms a scenic view with the living room, integrating greenery into daily life and serving as the main venue for gatherings; the backyard is used for handling daily rural affairs such as agricultural products, which is not only suitable for the elderly to use but also reduces the maintenance burden, returning to the practical nature of the space.

A winding corridor connects the courtyards, and the gray space under the eaves becomes a transition zone; the pavilion in the backyard is based on old stone bases and new columns, realizing the coexistence of old and new; the wall separating the backyard is not sealed to the top, using emptiness instead of solidity to allow the light, shadow and atmosphere of the backyard to penetrate quietly. The aging-friendly design is hidden in the details, such as widening the kitchen window sill, opening small interactive windows, and controlling the height difference of the ground, which reduces the difficulty of use for the elderly.

The project focuses on sustainability. Reusable bricks and tiles from the old house are retained to build the courtyard wall, and old components are transformed into part of the entrance lamps; solar panels are laid on the roof to meet most of the family’s daily electricity needs. The exterior facade adopts simple white textured paint, and the interior uses logs as the main material, which not only fits the village’s temperament but also meets the living comfort.

This triangular residence is not deliberately unconventional. Its generation logic comes from the response to living needs, seeking possibilities within the existing village order. It does not emphasize "modernity" through symbolic expressions, but constructs a contemporary living method close to daily life through the reasonable selection of orientation, scale and materials, providing a reference model for the renewal of traditional villages.