Country House in China: Dialogue Between Old and New

Half House is a project developed by SU Architects on the site of an old rural house in Zhejiang Province, China. The area of the resulting residence is 400 square meters.

Thus, the designers' strategy was to preserve and reinforce the original earthen walls and wooden structure, and to complement them with a brick-concrete construction.

The new and preserved parts of the house are closely intertwined, standing in complex relations with each other. Now it is no longer just a country house, but rather a local museum, a time capsule. The walls and old wood are not just structural elements, but storytellers placed at the center of visual attention.

Double-layered walls create a sense of ritual: next to the old earthen wall in the bedroom, a glass panel with backlighting of the original wall is installed. The initial structure of the house is brought into focus through such techniques, as if placed on a well-lit stage.

The project is called Half House — "half" of the house — because everything in it speaks about the idea of "half." Earth split in half with wood, new spaces split in half with the old building, half about space, half about time. Just like in the theatrical performance "Secret Love in a Peach Blossom Garden," where two different plays are performed simultaneously on the same stage. On one platform and in dialogue with each other.

Photos: Chen Hao, Xuguo Tang