The Flowing Garden explores the use of contemporary materials construction to create a modern residential space with the traditional style and spiritual core. The owners of the garden are two brothers. It is composed of three parts: two residential spaces for each brother’s family and a leisure space for gathering, meeting, fitness and other activities. Although they are separate, together they all form an organic entirety.
Except for the land to the south, where the ocean is barely visible through the woods, there’s no desirable landscapes on the other three sides. The design focuses on the courtyards in the interior space. The courtyard not only improves the environmental conditions, but also creates the natural division and transition. The boundary among architecture, interior and landscape is blurred.
A central pond yard is situated between the leisure part and the residential part. Then the residential part is divided in half into two independent residential units to generate a negative space, which naturally forms a ribbon courtyard between these two units. Each bedroom has its own private courtyard and the sunken courtyards make the underground space well lighted and ventilated, which is as good as the ground floor.
The fair-faced concrete is suitable for costal weather in the aspect of the duration, so it’s used as the building material. After the materials are concise and unified, it turns out that the building itself becomes the background, instead, the space becomes the protagonist. After the planting is completed, the courtyard space has a fundamental change. The concrete wall has become a curtain for the shadows of the trees. The growth of vegetation over the time creates a time and memory bond that meets the owners’ expectation of relaying this space to their future generations. This is also an excellent demonstration of the ecological sustainability.
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