The house is located in a small valley
It’s surrounded by mountains on three sides
Uncle Lin （the owner）started from scratch
And now he has it all
After years of hard work
He wanted to begin a new life
I wished to build a house for him to live in seclusion
To feel the breeze
The raindrops
And the real sunshine
The house won the golden award of multi-level space of Taiwan Interior Design Award in 2018
It’s in the suburban area of Xinzhu
It was a wasteland
Uncle Lin is actually a local of Xinzhu
He spent years
Buying those lands plot by plot
And put together into the environment we see today
It covers an area of around 30,000 m2
If you own a mountain
You might wish to build your house on the peak
But we eventually decided to put the house at the foot
It has to be energetic
But with a peaceful state of mind
Being low-key
The interior space is about 660 m2
I split the house into four boxes
I thought of bamboo
Which is a symbol of noble man in ancient China
The boxes stand on the hillside
All straight up, just like four bamboos
The first box faces outside the valley
And tilts slightly along the slope
It’s where Mr. Lin’s son, grandson and granddaughter live
When they come back
The room curls up in the end
Is the kids’ favorite
Because they can see stars and moons there
And branches and leaves
They can bath under the moon and starry sky
The second box is a few steps away from the parking area on the first floor
It’s for guests
And it’s separated from the private spaces
At the end of the guest room, there’s a big bathtub
Outside there’s a small courtyard and a tree
So it’s kind of like in a hot spring
Leaves fall on you
On the rooftop there’s a platform
Which is called “埕”(dia) in Taiwanese
It responds to the courtyard in a traditional Siheyuan
It’s where everybody gathers around
The third box is the biggest, widest and tallest
It contains a living room, a kitchen, a dining room
And a playroom for children
The last box is at the innermost of the valley and enjoys the most peaceful environment
Mr. Lin, the owner, sleeps there
It’s the master bedroom and where he bathes
The four boxes contain a lot of architectural details
The left wall is a little higher
And the right wall is slightly canted
The space is cut into various geometrical shapes
This is to keep every bathroom
Nature-embracing
Yet private
We divide a house into four boxes
But it’s still a home
The boxes are connected by pathways
I intentionally made them zigzag
To lead people to shades or light
After the division
I wanted to create a large number of semi-spaces (semi-indoor and semi-outdoor)
Including the aisles, the gaps between the boxes
The platform and the extending balconies
Half sun, half rain
Half wind
Half in and half out
Actually the most beautiful area of a house
Is the ambiguous transition space
Since Mr. Lin and his family moved in
He’s been living in happiness
Outside each window
There’s a different view
He likes plants very much
Like camphor trees and golden raintrees
He learns to adapt himself to this house
How we get along with various environments
Helps us know better about ourselves