In a small mountain village not far from Beijing, the House of Birds was the result of a client and architect’s meeting of minds as they plotted a way to make the most of the beautiful natural landscape around the lot. An antidote to the busy, chaotic buildings that tended to blind residents of this village to the absolute beauty beyond their walls, Chaoffice architects were tasked with creating a vacation home with an interior layout that matched the harmonious surroundings while creating space to take in the mountain views. In response to the brief, concrete and timber were employed as the main materials within the elegant minimal interior space, which is arranged around an open plan floorplan focused in part on large banks of glass that connect beautifully to the inner walled garden.
On the upper floor, an open terrace doubles as a viewing platform, with open uninterrupted views of the mountains to be enjoyed from the comfort of a covered banquet arranged beneath the eaves of the overhanging roof. Where once there was a crowded, claustrophobic living space, staggered floor levels, long horizontal windows, and the aforementioned rooftop deck provide a three-bedroom home that escapes its densely built-up surroundings and reaches upwards.
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Photography © Yumeng Zhu