A sensory home. Forest Villa by HAS design and research
28/12/2023.
[Hefei] China
metalocus, ADELA BONAS
metalocus, ADELA BONAS
Architecture studio HAS design and research designed a home located in the picturesque landscape formed by the Dashu Mountain National Forest Park, on the outskirts of the city of Hefei, in China. The project seeks to create a sustainable and timeless space.
The architects set out to provide a strong sense of ritual, mystery, and spiritual symbols to the Forest Villa home, seeking to create a sustainable and timeless space, aspects that are achieved by amplifying the characteristics of the place through three elements: enveloping, perforation, and emptiness, which manage to generate a sensation of extraordinary experience.
The architects set out to provide a strong sense of ritual, mystery, and spiritual symbols to the Forest Villa home, seeking to create a sustainable and timeless space, aspects that are achieved by amplifying the characteristics of the place through three elements: enveloping, perforation, and emptiness, which manage to generate a sensation of extraordinary experience.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Ground floor plan. Forest Villa by HAS design and research.
First floor plan. Forest Villa by HAS design and research.
Second floor plan. Forest Villa by HAS design and research.
Section plan. Forest Villa by HAS design and research.
Section plan. Forest Villa by HAS design and research.
Display. Forest Villa by HAS design and research.
Axonometry detail. Forest Villa by HAS design and research.
Drawing. Forest Villa by HAS design and research.
Model. Forest Villa by HAS design and research.
Model. Forest Villa by HAS design and research.
Model. Forest Villa by HAS design and research.
Forest Villa, designed by the architecture studio HAS design and research, is a house built on three floors in which the façade uses a sequence of structures to frame the continuous view, creating rich light and shadow effects and blocking excess light. Western sunlight in interior spaces.
The lobby, on the ground floor, is built through a large number of holes that create a feeling of ambiguity and permanence in the adjacent forest. This opening strategy is used equally on all three floors, allowing the creation of organic axes that provide a harmonious and vivid atmosphere to the entire home.
On the ground floor there is an open patio with a skylight on the underground floor and the botanical garden on the third floor, providing a variety of insects and birds a place to rest and providing a smell and auditory sensation.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
The lobby, on the ground floor, is built through a large number of holes that create a feeling of ambiguity and permanence in the adjacent forest. This opening strategy is used equally on all three floors, allowing the creation of organic axes that provide a harmonious and vivid atmosphere to the entire home.
On the ground floor there is an open patio with a skylight on the underground floor and the botanical garden on the third floor, providing a variety of insects and birds a place to rest and providing a smell and auditory sensation.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
Project description by HAS design and research
Forest Villa is located on the outskirts of Hefei, near the Dashu Mountain National Forest Park. Its natural topography is as picturesque as a fairyland on earth, which prompted HAS Design and Research to create a unique space that coexists with eternity and spirituality. Hung and Songkittipakdee (HAS) proposed a new design strategy that not only improved the functional spaces but also enhanced the site characteristics through three elements: shell, hole, and void, for a sense of extraordinary living experience in the Forest Villa.
On the building's facade, the design uses a sequence of shells to frame the continuous view. These shells strengthen the relationship between the interior and exterior, just like the traditional Chinese gardens, creating rich light and shadow effects and blocking excessive western sunlight for indoor spaces. In the foyer, a large number of holes create a sense of ambiguity, giving the spaces a free and flowing visual effect. The overlapping holes are like a forest with overlapping trees, providing a harmonious and vivid atmosphere. In the living and dining spaces, the rhythmic walls provide an axis and void at the transition space, mediating the two spaces while also enhancing people's perceptions and emotions.
The third floor continues the strategy of shell, hole, and void, which perfectly integrates with moveable panels and presents diversity and flexibility in the space. In the morning, the fully open panels allow natural light and seasonal winds to pass through the building, giving a soft living experience; in the afternoon, the semi-opened panels filter sunlight and provide a space for meditation, yoga, and Tai Chi; at night, the closed panels create an independent space for reading, relaxing, and interacting with the starry sky. This multi-functional hall captures and records a new living experience, giving an unforgettable emotional sense and stimulating the mind, body, and soul.
Forest Villa by HAS design and research. Photograph by Fangfang Tian.
On the underground floor, unlike the lightness of the upper space, HAS Design and Research uses a variety of thick walls and holes to create a progressive and weightless visual experience, giving the natural sense of a rock cave. A series of continuous holes not only gives a sense of extraordinary spirituality but also metaphorizes the open skylight courtyard behind the wall for connecting the bamboo forest to create a Chinese landscape painting-like effect in the lounge hall.
Forest Villa is inspired by reverence and analogy of nature, allowing the architecture to learn from the natural growth of a forest, such as a sequence of pillars like a grove of trees, with each pillar having random textures and proportions for a tactile and visual sensation. The landscape is also a feature of Forest Villa. It not only appears in the seasonal forest on the ground floor, but also spreads to the open skylight courtyard on the underground floor and the botanic garden on the third floor, providing a variety of insects and birds a place to rest and bringing a smell and auditory sensation.
This building is more than a residential villa; Hung And Songkittipakdee create a space that is sustainable and timeless. It brings a strong sense of ritual and mystery and injects another spiritual symbol into contemporary residences.
More information
Architects
Project team
Design team: Jenchieh Hung, Kulthida Songkittipakdee, Atithan Pongpitak, Zhihui Jiang.
Lighting design: Jenna Tsailin Liu.
Lighting design: Jenna Tsailin Liu.
Builder
Hefei Botuo Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd.
Area
Site area: 310 sqm.
Gross built area: 545 sqm.
Gross built area: 545 sqm.
Dates
Completion year: 2023.
Location
Hefei, China.
Manufacturers
Lighting technology: Visual Feast (VF).
Landscape and furniture consultant: Weili Yang.
Landscape and furniture consultant: Weili Yang.
Photography
Jenchieh Hung, Kulthida Songkittipakdee. Hung And Songkittipakdee (HAS)
Hung And Songkittipakdee (HAS) is a based Bangkok architecture practice founded by Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee. The firm explores Asia’s architectural language through a “design + research” parallel approach; it emphasizes the analogy of nature and man-made nature, looking for another kind of new natural architecture through the city’s own derivatives, named “The Improvised, MANufAcTURE and Chameleon Architecture”. HAS work encompasses cultural buildings, religious architecture, installation art, exhibition design and experimental projects; and HAS research includes the train and railway markets, the charming roadside vendors, the borderless illegal constructions under the elevated freeways, and the roundabouts of dead alleys. These interesting scenes typically exist in Asian cities, where temporary structure truly reveals how people can find a “new” nature in the reinforced concrete city.
HAS developed an international reputation through winning competition entries, and their work stands out in terms of its synthesis of form, pattern, material and technology into singular, irreducible constructions. They have been widely recognized for their innovative work and received awards and honours including Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022, Thailand Prestige Award 2021, Designer of the Year Award 2019, Design Star Award 2018, Distinguished Alumni Award 2016, WA Award 2014, art4d Design Award 2012, National Golden Award for Architecture 2011.
Jenchieh Hung started his career working at the Japanese firm Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA), where he became design manager and project in-charge in 2018. During his tenure at KKAA, Hung was responsible for Yangcheng Lake Tourist Transportation Center in Suzhou and Shipyard 1862 in Shanghai. At present, he is the principal architect of HAS design and research, founder of Chinese-Thai Research Studio, associate editor of the International Journal of Interior Architecture + Spatial Design, and member of the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage. Hung received a Bachelor of Architecture and Urban Planning with 1st Honor Award from Chung Hua University, a Master of Architecture with Best Research Paper Award from National Cheng Kung University and a full scholarship for an advanced master program at Czech Technical University in Prague.
Kulthida Songkittipakdee is a registered Thai architect. She was the first Asian architect among thousand of applications worldwide to be awarded the scholarship of Renzo Piano Foundation working at Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) in Paris. During her tenure at RPBW, she was involved in the Jerome L. Greene Science Center, Columbia University and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Expansion. At present, she is the principal architect of HAS design and research, guest editor of Taiwan Architecture, and member of the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage. Songkittipakdee received a Bachelor of Architecture with honours from Chulalongkorn University, and she pursued studies abroad and obtained a Master of Urban Design from the L’Ecole National Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-la-Villette including the exchange program study at School of Architecture and Design, Aalborg University in Denmark.
HAS developed an international reputation through winning competition entries, and their work stands out in terms of its synthesis of form, pattern, material and technology into singular, irreducible constructions. They have been widely recognized for their innovative work and received awards and honours including Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022, Thailand Prestige Award 2021, Designer of the Year Award 2019, Design Star Award 2018, Distinguished Alumni Award 2016, WA Award 2014, art4d Design Award 2012, National Golden Award for Architecture 2011.
Jenchieh Hung started his career working at the Japanese firm Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA), where he became design manager and project in-charge in 2018. During his tenure at KKAA, Hung was responsible for Yangcheng Lake Tourist Transportation Center in Suzhou and Shipyard 1862 in Shanghai. At present, he is the principal architect of HAS design and research, founder of Chinese-Thai Research Studio, associate editor of the International Journal of Interior Architecture + Spatial Design, and member of the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage. Hung received a Bachelor of Architecture and Urban Planning with 1st Honor Award from Chung Hua University, a Master of Architecture with Best Research Paper Award from National Cheng Kung University and a full scholarship for an advanced master program at Czech Technical University in Prague.
Kulthida Songkittipakdee is a registered Thai architect. She was the first Asian architect among thousand of applications worldwide to be awarded the scholarship of Renzo Piano Foundation working at Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) in Paris. During her tenure at RPBW, she was involved in the Jerome L. Greene Science Center, Columbia University and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Expansion. At present, she is the principal architect of HAS design and research, guest editor of Taiwan Architecture, and member of the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage. Songkittipakdee received a Bachelor of Architecture with honours from Chulalongkorn University, and she pursued studies abroad and obtained a Master of Urban Design from the L’Ecole National Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-la-Villette including the exchange program study at School of Architecture and Design, Aalborg University in Denmark.
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