Q House II | MONOARCHI

This is an old alleyway house in the old Shanghai area. The owner Mr. Qiu plans to use it for future retirement life.

The house was narrow and dim with complex elevation difference, but it has a view to the golden spire of Jing'an Temple through the dormer in the attic. Mr. Qiu likes Shanghai-retro style, so we tried to draw inspiration from history. The nearby neighbourhood has buildings of diverse styles from abroad, such as the Spanish-style villa on Wukang Road, which has a street-facing‘one-step balcony’,which writer Chen Danyan calls "Romeo's Balcony". It have an ambiguous quality that is both dignified and wants to blend into the surrounding urban life. This pursuit of a refined quality of life within a high-density context, while maintaining a sense of distance and courtesy from the  mundane urban life, is what we would like to transform and present as ‘indoor city’.

We heightened the living room and hung a mezzanine with a circular opening towards the entrance. When one is receiving guests in the living room, family members can observe or gently greet from the "Romeo's Balcony". The compressed space beneath the "balcony" defines an urban scene under the eave. The attic scene is like a stage. The dormer opened, it becomes a balcony with a view to the golden Jing’an Temple spire that introduces secular ambience.

In order to accommodate retirement life, we canceled almost all the level difference on each floor to allow wheelchair accessibility. Then, we removed all the small rooms on the north side and turn the space into a bright staircase and elevator. Ultimately, we created two complete suites and an attic space with a washroom. The number of rooms reduced, the quality of living is enhanced.

Based on the same logic of exquisiteness and principle of spatial integrity, we designed a series of ‘boxes’ to meet storage and functional needs. Among them, the bedroom washroom area is also made into spatial furniture, giving it an independent characteristic through visual illusion, while its inside functional need is fulfilled. The fluted glass between the toilet and shower room, which allows light to pass through, and the ventilation louvers below, alleviate the feeling of claustrophobia.

The stair is constructed with 10mm steel panels, which satisfy the structural requirement while maximising the space. The corners of the staircase side panels are connected to form a continuous zigzag shape, like a tree growing upwards. Niches are created between the staircase and the exterior wall to display collected objects that store memories.

The house makes full use of skylight. The staircase is illuminated by skylight all the way to the ground floor; attic dormer is renovated to expand the view; The hallway on the ground floor is converted to a kitchen with skylight, allowing one to feel the changing seasons.

The basic colour of the house is pure white, while the ‘balcony’(living room mezzanine) is painted retro brownish red. The blunt colour tone gives the light and airy space a sense of stability.