A new flexible functional program is injected into a beautiful but derelict old house.
The tour operator WildChina decided to use this old house as its new endeavour in the countryside of Zhejiang, a southern province of China characterized by beautiful landscape and vibrant local culture.
Credits: Design A collaboration between MDDM STUDIO and WaiWai www.mddm-studio.com
Team: Margret Domko, Momo Andrea Destro, Amirlin Sunderiya with WaiWai.
Client: WildChina
Contractor: Wu Bingsong
Furniture: Lost and Found, Hay
Photos:
To preserve the authenticity of the old house, the design strategy reduced the intervention to a minimum with the aim to bring back the original beauty of the building and to adapt it to contemporary use.
The entire wood structure has been reinforced and partially re-engineered using traditional technique. The staircase was turned to improve the flow and a new concrete box was added to the courtyard to host the restroom and a storage.
The first floor hosts a cafe and exhibition space. The guests are welcomed by a small bar counter in front of the entrance and they are then invited to explore the exhibition area facing the internal courtyard.
Above the bar counter, an opening on the above slab expands the space. It connects the entrance to the vertical circulation path to reach the upper floors as well as improves the natural light penetration in this central area.
The second floor is entirely dedicated to the workshop area while on the last floor one third of the space is left open air. This covered terrace hosts a small pantry for tea preparation to encourage the relationship with the beautiful surrounding.
The facade to the courtyard has been remodelled to embrace as much natural light as possible with big opening modulated by wooden frames. The external walls have been cleaned and restore to their original brickwork.
The interior walls are finished with earth plaster in natural color as in the local traditional while the wood structure has been protected with a dark lacquer.
