Utopia Whare Noho by Fei Zhao is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award Hiriwa in Hoahoa Roto Whare me te Whakaaturanga Competition Category.

HiriwaRoto Whare· 2023

Utopia Whare Noho

by Fei Zhao

Client: 323 Studio

A' Design Award Hiriwa Winner in Roto Whare Category

17,864

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #145030

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Colors

The Design

About Utopia Whare Noho

Ko te marama o te taiao te putake o te ahua o tenei waahi. He waahi kaiao, he waahi whakauru i hiahia nga kaihoahoa ki te hanga, no reira ka whakatauritea e ratou te maha o nga tikanga mokowhiti waro, tae atu ki te tuunga o nga pikitia hanga. Ko te waahi o raro o raro i noho ki te haurua o te waahi katoa, engari ko nga rama kei roto i te papa o raro ka taea e te rangatira te hanga i etahi waahi korekore mai i tera. Hei whakapai ake i te tere o te whakamahinga o te waahi katoa o raro o te whenua me te whakanui ake i te rama, ka hiahia te kaihoahoa ki te hanga i tetahi hanganga hou huri noa i te rama i roto i te whare.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Hiriwa

Ko Utopia Whare Noho te toa o te A' Design Award Hiriwa, he whakaaetanga tino whai mana e hoatu ana ki ngā hoahoa taumata teitei rawa, ātaahua me te whakamīharo. Ko ngā toa Hiriwa he mahi tino kanapa, tino auaha e whakaatu ana i te mātanga, te pūmanawa me te mōhio hōhonu o ā rātou kaihoahoa. E tūmanakohia ana ko Utopia Whare Noho he mahi whakamīharo, he tauira, he tino ngaio, he auaha hōhonu. Ko tēnei hoahoa i toa i te Hiriwa he hanganga rongonui, whakamīharotia e whai wāhi ana ki te whakawhānui i ngā rohe o te toi, te pūtaiao, te hoahoa me te hangarau. Ko Utopia Whare Noho he mahi e hae ana te tini, e whakaara ana i ngā hiahia, e kawe mai ana i ngā kare-ā-roto pai, ā, e whakaoho ana i te mīharo.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: As a narrow north-south facing townhouse, the original building has 4 floors, 2 above ground and 2 below (the basement has a height of 5.5m and can be divided into 2 floors with only a small patio to provide light). Facing south as the main direction of light, it relies on a stairwell to connect the various floors and comes with a lift. After observing the site and realizing that no well landscape was around the site, we decided to make an Inward facing construction within it.
Dimensions & Packaging: Indoor area 420 ㎡
Tags: Organic, light and shadow, lighthearted, sculptural, textural contrasts
Production Technology: The curved wall and the laminated cast-in-place revolving staircase were a very big challenge for this project in terms of landing. First of all, the curved wall is an irregular shape, and the boundary of each floor has different positioning dimensions. In order to keep the errors to a minimum, the builder used ropes to locate the 2 layers connected to the basement at multiple points while positioning according to the drawings, just to ensure the coherence of the curved walls.
For the construction drawings, we refer to the positioning method of Toyo Ito’s construction drawings, the contour grid positioning method.
Design Challenge: Guiding the constructor to land our project, and connecting with the structure and electromechanical team, both are hard nuts for us to crack. There are many first attempts for us, also for our constructor.
Research: We focus on the impact of light on the residential environment, taking sunlight as a case study, by observation of the duration and direction of sunlight at the winter and summer solstices.
Inspiration: The radiant natural light is the source of the form of this space. An organic, inclusive space was the feeling we wanted to create, so we also compared a lot of organic space practices, including the positioning of the construction drawings.
Project Duration: The project started on October 17th 2020 and finished on August 1st 2021 in Zhengzhou, China.
Operation Flow: In terms of functional distribution, we clearly divide the functional areas of each floor, which are both independent and well-connected.
The 1st floor and the 2nd floor underground are the main floors for daily access, serving as public spaces, while the relatively independent 2nd floor serves as residential spaces. Owners also have the need for daily gatherings, so we try to make each functional area larger.The staircase has been redesigned to provide a more comfortable connection of traffic flow between the functional areas on each level.
Patents: Design copyright: 323studio
Team Members: Designer: Ran Chen
Image Credits: Photographic institutions：WMstudio