A White House, A Growing Home

A White House, A Growing Home
More green, more vigor.. Image © Fangfang Tian

A WHITE HOUSE, A GROWING HOME

Kai Liu

ARCHITECTS
RIGI Design

PHOTOGRAPHS
Fangfang Tian

AREA
240 m²

YEAR
2017

LOCATION
Shanghai, China

CATEGORY
Houses, Refurbishment

Kai Liu designed this white 3-story residence in a common Shanghai old-style lane.
There are plenty of similar buildings in Shanghai which is not new, and located in a naturally-formed block, carrying the memories of this city.

A White House, A Growing Home
Give the kid a bigger world.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
A complete home.. Image © Fangfang Tian

The original architecture was completed in 1947, which consists of 3 floors, 5.5 meters in width, and about 15.2 meters in depth.

It faces south and has entrances in both sides. Due to the complicated compartments and deep depth, the overall indoor lighting was bad.

A White House, A Growing Home
The vertical space and the introduction of light is the starting point of the design.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
The power of point-line-surface.. Image © Fangfang Tian

As it was built long time ago, part of the building structure need to be repaired, we also reinforced the whole architecture, and unified the height of the entire building.

The staircase in the northern side was torn down, Skylight and staircase are designed to be the center of the architecture, reshaping the whole logic and form of this 3-story building.

A White House, A Growing Home
Green palnts and sunshine are always the best.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
punched steel plate staircase and the skylight bring in the natural light to the largest extent.. Image © Fangfang Tian

Punched holes,the steel stairs can bring in light, The stairs go upward around the natural light patio from the 1st floor, extending the whole house vertically around the light.

Kai Liu designed a semi-opened area on the 1st floor which blurs the boundary between indoor and outdoor. After reconstruction, the original isolated courtyard has a new connection with the 3-story space.

The semi-outdoor space adds enough warmth into living room. Sunshine, plant, interior, exterior, and blurry boundary allows spaces and life scene to switch freely.

A White House, A Growing Home
A quiet and warm space.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Life happens here everyday.. Image © Fangfang Tian

A hole is reserved in the courtyard, where to plant tree in Spring, which could accompany the kids to grow up - time is also a part of our design.

On the 1st floor, the sunlight living-dining room and the kitchen are designed as a whole space, where family spend most of time together.

We hope this space belongs to every scene of life, instead of being defined by functions.

A White House, A Growing Home
The space relationship.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
The vertical reletion of space.. Image © Fangfang Tian

We designed a whole modular furniture wall, called "life board", which can be decorated or assembled by accessories in diverse ways, along with life changing.

From this point of view, we hope the future form of the design could be gradually shaped by daily life.

On the 2nd floor, the door and the storage space are hidden behind the wall, which creates a clean and complete area.0

A White House, A Growing Home
The natural light is the best decoration.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Life board. Image © Fangfang Tian

During sunny days, it will be a warm family space. The kid's bed, desk and storage space are connected through our design.

The kid likes the house very much, climbing stairs, playing in the courtyard, which is also our design original purpose - to bring a bigger world to the kid, allowing him to know about the changing world from another dimension.

Following natural daylight, going up along the steel staircase, we can see modified skylights, vertical lighting windows and a pure outdoor space.

A White House, A Growing Home
Life board. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
The reservation of the slope structure of the original buildingcreates a new relation in the original space which is not big.. Image © Fangfang Tian 

This is the area we modified most.The whole building starts from light and vertical space.

For the main bedroom, we kept the slope structure of original building, unified the cloakroom and the toilet into a box, reserving the original architectural form to the largest extent and creating a new connection in the original space which is not big.

A White House, A Growing Home
Toilet of the main bedroom.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
A corner of the 3rd floor.. Image © Fangfang Tian

We want to design something carrying beauty and happiness. There is not so much joy in life, and our life is filled with small happiness. What we love is not to possess good things or luxurious furniture, but a self-made life on our own.

Having seen so many houses, the only concept we believe is that a person cannot be stuck with a settled life, whether in the house value or style.

A White House, A Growing Home
A space belongs to the child.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Grow here everyday.. Image © Fangfang Tian

A house is not equal to home, home belongs to us and our family. A house is like a container to carry our growth, experience and hope. And design, brings more tolerance into life.

The city where we live and work is not perfect, and there are even some disorder traffic and a lot of garbage, but it is not an obstacle for us to design a warm house.

A White House, A Growing Home
A tree growing whit the kids. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
A White House. Image © Fangfang Tian

This is a house of 1970s, witnessing the lives of generations. At this moment it seems to be reborn.
This is the meaning of our life, to be better.


A White House, A Growing Home
Warmth exists in this imperfect city.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
A warm existence.. Image © Fangfang Tian


A White House, A Growing Home
We unified the cloakroom and toilet into a box which reserved the form of original architecture to the largest extent.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Toilet of the guest bedroom.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Fine details.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
The vertical reletion of space.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Life board.Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Life board.Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Life boaed: use the design to organize and accumulate every single day, because life is made up of these different pieces.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
 © Fangfang Tian


A White House, A Growing Home
The semi-opened area blurs the boundary between interior and exterior, createsa new conversation with the interior.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Indispensablespace logic.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
The details of every corner.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Use the design to organize life.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Open up part of the roof to create a large skylight which brings in lots of natural light to the middle part of the space.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
The vertical space communication.. Image © Fangfang Tian


A White House, A Growing Home
A house is not equal to a home, home is a place belongs to a family.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
Home is a container, carrying our everyday life.. Image © Fangfang Tian
A White House, A Growing Home
The annotation of a house is not the definition of home, but it is truly a glance of life.. Image © Fangfang Tian


A White House, A Growing Home
Axonometric
A White House, A Growing Home
Refurbisment diagarm


A White House, A Growing Home
Floor Plans
A White House, A Growing Home
Context