This is a house designed for a painter and his wife. The site is located on the eastern edge of a village, next to rice fields. In common with the inward-looking character of courtyard houses in the village, the new house has an introvert character. Lime mixed with pieces of straw?a very common form of rendering for external walls in Dali region?also helps relate the new house to its context. 

© Hao Chen

Architects: Zhaoyang Architects

Location: Dali, Yunnan, China

Design Team: Yang Zhao, Peigen Shang

Area: 426.0 sqm

Project Year: 2016

Photographs: Hao Chen, Shu Tan, Courtesy of Zhaoyang Architecture

Client: Zhong Meng, Yi Wen
Cost: 2,000,000 CNY

© Hao Chen

From the architect. This is a house designed for a painter and his wife. The site is located on the eastern edge of a village, next to rice fields. In common with the inward-looking character of courtyard houses in the village, the new house has an introvert character. Lime mixed with pieces of straw?a very common form of rendering for external walls in Dali region?also helps relate the new house to its context. 

© Hao Chen

Inside, the house is divided into the private quarters of the resident couple to the north, and a series of living areas and accommodation for a guest and a live-in cleaner/cook ...