Linyin Lake Villa
Project Background:
Located in a high-end villa area in Minhang, Shanghai, this project primarily features row houses. The community is predominantly occupied by foreigners and domestic high-net-worth individuals.
Client’s Profile:
The client serves as the director of an art gallery in Shanghai, boasting an extensive collection of artworks and holding a distinguished background in foreign art education.
Client’s Requests:
The current spatial layout, particularly in the basement, garden, and third floor, has left the owner dissatisfied. A redesign of the staircase is sought to improve the overall spatial ambiance. Additionally, the owner wishes to incorporate a studio and desires a dedicated space for exhibiting the art collection.
Layout Analysis:
The layout adopts a typical arrangement with central circulation and rooms at both ends, resulting in a basic configuration with larger spaces at the ends and a smaller middle section.
Advantages:
The rooms at both ends receive ample natural light without compromising each other.
Disadvantages:
1. The narrow central circulation space hinders visual clarity between the north and south ends, causing the rooms on either side to appear cramped and falling short of the expected quality for a villa space.
2. The central circulation space suffers from poor natural lighting, creating a dismal experience on the staircase with its dim and cramped conditions.
3. Despite being a four-story villa, the absence of any double-height space and the lack of visual interaction between floors result in a lower overall spatial quality.
4. The basement is mostly concealed beneath the soil, receiving minimal natural light. Only a long skylight provides some illumination, leading to an overall poor quality.
Design Strategy:
1. Remove the central three-run staircase and opt for a straight-run staircase along one side of the wall. This opens up sightlines in both the north and south directions, fostering interaction between floors and transforming the entire space into an open and transparent environment.
2. Introduce a skylight at the top of the central staircase to infuse natural light into the darkest part of the building. This significantly enhances the quality of the staircase space and, with the skylight, establishes a private art gallery on the top floor, perfectly addressing the owner's need to showcase their art collection.
3. Excavate the courtyard below and dismantle the sidewall of the basement, exposing it to create a courtyard level. This transforms the entire villa into a dual ground floor layout, improving the quality of the basement and adding interest to the overall villa space.
4. To maximize transparency and increase natural light in the rooms while ensuring functionality and privacy, minimize interior partition walls wherever possible.
Through our thoughtful reconfiguration of the spatial layout, this project not only fulfills the owner's quest for a high-quality villa space and practical functionality but also introduces the innovative concept of a dual ground floor, seamlessly blending the basement with the courtyard to offer a myriad of possibilities for the owner's enriched lifestyle.