Silver Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2024
Yangguang City No.9 Residential House
by Saiwen Liu
- A' Design Award 2024 Silver Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 28,400
- Verification code 07E898B5A0 · Verify this award
About Yangguang City No.9 Residential House
Yangguang City No.9 is a residential interior design located in Xi'an, China, with a total area of 501 square metres. The layout is organised to support efficient movement between functions within a compact floor plan. Curved wall shapes and embedded light strips recall the tail feathers of the phoenix, a bird of Chinese mythology, and add depth to the rooms. Natural shell terrazzo and common red bricks lower material cost and help balance indoor humidity in a dry climate. Two side tables are made from a saw blade and from off-cut wood.
Saiwen Liu's Yangguang City No.9 Residential House emerges as a distinguished example of contemporary residential interior design that synthesizes parametric architectural vocabulary with the enduring pleasures of refined domestic space. The composition demonstrates the designer's sophisticated engagement with what might be termed organic modernism, wherein the rigorous geometries of functionalist tradition are softened and animated through flowing biomorphic forms that evoke natural phenomena, from wave patterns to cloud formations to the gentle undulations of wind-shaped dunes. The sculptural ceiling treatment, with its successive crests of illuminated plaster, suggests an awareness of the phenomenological potential of architecture to create spaces of contemplation and sensory delight, each curve catching and releasing light in ways that transform the perception of the interior as one moves through it. The technical accomplishment evident in the seamless integration of concealed lighting within complex curved surfaces speaks to considerable craft expertise and careful coordination between design vision and construction execution. The material palette demonstrates curatorial sensibility in its selection and juxtaposition of surfaces, the warmth of richly veined Calacatta marble against cool white plaster, the industrial honesty of black steel muntins against soft flowing forms, the grounding presence of terrazzo flooring establishing visual continuity across the open plan. The arched partition with its gridded glazing pattern introduces a note of historical reference, perhaps evoking the conservatory traditions of earlier eras while serving contemporary spatial functions of division without isolation. One might observe how the pendant light fixture, with its clustered glass globes and metallic framework, serves as a three-dimensional echo of the ceiling's organic language, a sculptural object suspended within sculptural space. The viewer is invited to consider how this interior proposes a model of contemporary dwelling wherein technological innovation and material luxury serve not display but rather the cultivation of daily aesthetic experience, a home as a vessel for living beautifully.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The design of this project focuses on rationalising the space, arranging the layout of functions to enable efficient traffic flow, as well as applying aesthetic theory into practicality. FengHuang, an immortal bird in Chinese mythology, represents balance and harmony in the universe. The orderly arranged wall shapes are like a breeze combing through flowing tail feathers of FengHuang, which accentuates the dimensions of space. Light strip embedded within the curves imitates a dancing phoenix.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 501㎡
- Tags
- A.Phoenix;B.smart space; C.shell terrazzo; D.red brick
- Production Technology
- The use of natural-shell terrazzo and common red bricks reduced the material cost (367 €/㎡). At the same time, the adsorption of red bricks can well adjust to indoor humidity, which is suitable for the dry climate in northwest China, where Xi’an is located. The two side tables, one made of a saw blade and the other made of off-cut wood decorated with oil paint, are the unique decorations in this project.
- Design Challenge
- The single-floor area of this project is 93 ㎡, which is a relatively small space. The use of tender curves and linear lights creates an elegant and dynamic feeling in this cramped and rigid space, thus offsetting the discomfort caused by the tight area, making the living environment more comfortable.
- Project Duration
- The project started in June 2021 in Xi'an and completed in June 2023.
- Research
- The amount of wasted shells produced in China reaches ten million tons every year. Increased developments in reusing discarded shells will assist in the urgent drive to avoid marine pollution. The application of natural shell terrazzo in this project has a positive role in promoting this, it also adds value to wasted shells recycling.
- Inspiration
- The design of the living room is inspired by phoenix tail feathers, which are as elegant as flowing ribbons. The dense lines combined with the wall shape are like the breeze combing feathers, stacking up the layering of the space. The extremely narrow lines are embedded in the light strips, like a dancing phoenix, inhabiting at the home.
- Image Credits
- Photographer: Zhong Yonggang
Company: Shenyang Tupai Advertising Media Co., LTD
June 6, 2023 - Patents
- Copyrights belong to Saiwen Liu