The Chinese garden art of Suzhou is a demonstration of ancient wisdom and philosophy. We have been understanding and exploring the spirit and techniques of ancient Chinese garden through designing and execution. The freshness, grace, and leisure found in the natural elements of Chinese gardens are timelessly innocent. We believe designs expressions incorporating Chinese gardens should focus on the spirit rather than the skin. Furthermore studying on modern lifestyle and spatial experience triumph cloning traditional garden building.
Stream Villa is located in Suzhou’s Gusu District. It’s less than one kilometer from the famed Liu Garden. Just under ten thousand square meters, the area is surrounded by towering trees and filled with history and living atmosphere. The courtyard consists of entrance, carpark, upper and lower water compound, and inner compound. The courtyard will be the future community centre and open to the public. It will also serve as the entrance to the residential area.
Ancient poetries written in Chinese gardens usually convey people’s desire to follow nature, sense the feeling and value of nature, beyond simply describing enjoyment of life. Similarly when designing the courtyard we considered the unique regional history and culture, infusing the idea of nature in the experience and thinking of eastern artistic conception. Within the limited land area, structures, interior and landscape achieved harmonious complement.
Empty woods is the first water yard after coming through the entrance. The tranquil water surface adds radiance and beauty of the structures and three walls of corridors. The water mirrors the woods behind the structures, the cold stonewall, as well as the sky. The space of the yard seems inward and empty on purpose, but it is fully loaded with reflection of everything. It separated the project from the rumble of the street outside, presenting an image of serenity and leisure.
Passing through the revolving wooden door from the water yard comes the tree yard. Contrasting the minimalism of the water yard, the tree yard holds fresh natural atmosphere, with slender plants, ups and downs of terrain, rich and delicate ground flora, as well as theme set by full-bodied stone wall. The tree yard forms part of the living space, where residents are able to conduct all sorts of activities as they feel like. We emphasise on the experience of spatial ambient, rather than point to point pure visual stimulation. Under the shadow of the tree, greenery of the nature signifies the start of living.
Location: Gusu District, Suzhou city
Area: 0.8 ha
Completion: 2019
Developer: Yincheng Real Estate, Ping An Real Estate
Building Design: Gee Architectural Design CO., LTD
Landscape Design: Change Studio
Interior Design: Dome & Associates
Lighting Design: RDI
Landscape contractor: Bargreen Landscape Engineering
Photo: Wang Ning &. He Zhen Huan
