studio twist balances family and social life in shanghai garden villa

studio twist balances family and social life in shanghai garden villa
photo © studio twist
all images courtesy of studio twist

large houses in present-day china are an evolving programmatic typology where formal hosting has increasing importance alongside changing family lifestyles. as a result, specific rituals have developed. for example, a typical gathering between owners and their guests starts with a proper meeting, followed by fine dining, and ends with entertainment and games. at the same time, it is common for three or more generations of a family to live together in the same residence, each having their privacy needs as well as shared spaces. the ‘shanghai garden villa’ by studio twist is about balancing these dualities of family and social life within the context of an architectural strategy. 

view across a water courtyard to the spiral staircase
photo © studio twist

the home is organized into a pair of rectilinear blocks sitting on an arrangement of walls that extend into the surrounding garden. these two forms interlock at a three-storey tall screened box that houses a lift and spiral staircase in the center of the site. on the ground floor, half of the building is designed for public gatherings with friends, while the other half contains the private living quarters. each wing is organized with its own unique water courtyard surrounded by mass amounts of glazing to provide sunlight for the interior. bedrooms are placed in the second floor, while entertainment and sports facilities are positioned in the basement, including a swimming pool that opens on the south side to a sloping landscape.

the interior public spaces are line with glass walls
photo © studio twist

the villa provides a contemporary aesthetic yet alludes to oriental sensibilities as it is influenced by the parallels between mies van der rohe’s barcelona pavilion, where the seemingly free composition of walls in plan blurs the boundaries between inside and outside, and traditional chinese houses, where structures and courtyards are organized around one another.

the center of the site houses a spiral staircase
photo © studio twist

a private corridor
photo © studio twist

view of the the pond
photo © studio twist 

the screen wall projects a pattern onto the interior surfaces
photo © studio twist

entry to the villa
photo © studio twist

aerial rendering of the building

site model
photo © studio twist

project info:

project: shanghai garden villa
location: shanghai, china
site area: 3000m²
floor area: 1600m²
scope: architecture design
timeframe: 2013
status: concept design completed
client: shanghai forte land company limited

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.