Mountain House in Mist
Mountains surround the house in the south, covered with thick forests.
The house is located in an ancient mountain forest in Wuyi County, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province. The village maintains complete features from old inhabitants in this area, with buildings scatters in different altitudes by the mountain line and dense trees with history of over one hundred years at the entrance. The book house sits not far from the square at the entrance, beside which is well-preserved courtyard houses made in rammed earth. The old cowshed used to locate at the yard, but was removed after it collapsed.
The book house aims to create a serene reading space that clams people down, thus attracting more young people and children to return to the mountains. It also provides a colorful and quiet place so that children and the elderly can feel freedom and happiness in this house. Bird’s eye view of the book house. Image © Yilong Zhao
Bring the space and the village closer

One of our initial thoughts is to spare room for the villagers, which also brings an intuitive feeling. In the first floor of the book house, there is an overhead semi-outdoor open space, and ten structural columns hold the entire house. The closed spaces are on the second floor, connected to the outside with an out-door staircase. There is only a tiny water bar on the first floor for water and beverages, the other places are totally open for villagers to drink, chat and for kids to play. The open spa...