Life in tree house by Soar Design Studio

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_{^{Project name: Life in tree house}}

_{^{Architecture Firm: Soar Design Studio}}

_{^{Designer: Ya-Jui Chang}}

_{^{Project area: 114 m2}}

_{^{Location：Taiwan}}

_{^{Photo credits:  Hey! Cheese}}   

Description from Soar Design Studio:

※Specification 
Supported by H-Beam structure, this 73 m2 fractional space features 4m ceiling and exclusive view of the garden. Mineral floor coating enhances waterproof qualities, hardness, compressive strength and reduces splits. LOTOS wall coating adjusts moisture, and wooden floor brings in nature and warmth.

※Summary
Mimicking a treehouse, we break through the limits and carve out ample living space and 3 individual rooms, suspended by steel structures on the ceiling. Solid wood flooring extends the hallway and space for interaction, serving as a platform where people connect. Multifunctional public space features overlapping flows for more spontaneity for shared organic lifestyle, independently together.

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※Design Points
1. For zero-covering, we leverage height and size of the window to lessen dependence on decoration.
2. Gaps are leveraged to blur floor lines. Diversity adds to horizontal but ambiguous boundaries.
3. With layered closures and flows, we take the urban to nature through asymmetrical organic design.

※Background
Client is a typical urbanite, once lived in spacious high-floor apartments but decided to move to smaller place thanks to Tiny House Movement and KonMarie decluttering lifestyle. Tiny house doesn’t mean tiny quality. Thanks to the gardens which extend visual space, circular flows that penetrate the living space, material layering and extension that blur outdoor boundaries, tiny is enriching.

Real company is not doing the same thing in the same space, but rather, for this family of four, it means setting up the context through which each can fulfill their own private and shared needs in different corners. Re-spacing is the game-changing idea, as it is all about having fun, creating a new lifestyle for the family to build familial relationships anew.

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※Realize the design process and results
Each room is seen as individual structure within the community, laying emphasis on the virtual space ( i.e. shared and open public space). Design thinking comes from outside in, using garden and fences as pivot, extending the visual and living space. Aisles, couches and green corners are inserted at different levels, connecting the space and delivering more comfort and facilitating more organic and fun interactions.

Organic space is created by mimicking treehouses in nature. Hybrid-layer design carves out dimensions in one-level space, replacing conventional vertical-split concrete walls by steel suspensions from the ceiling. Gaps and closures within broken facades, layers, and hollows then lead to ambiguous boundaries of space, mixing ups and downs.

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※About the improvement of design, the difference with similar competitive products
Re-spacing is the key to disruptive creation in this project, dismantling everything for a complete reorganization. Each spared space is positioned by itself, connected virtually without concrete walls for a comfortable micro-climate. Multi-functional platform and open space leave ambiguity for usage as well as boundaries, exposing a different lifestyle for more exploration and experiences in this organic space.

No-coverage design is a challenge for retrofitting in Taiwan. To maximize height within the multi-layered space, ceiling and utilities are left bare and uncovered. Height and size of the windows are manipulated , borrowing neat views from outside to transfer visual focus. . No-coverage is not an issue then, and the bareness now serves as a frame for indoor views.

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※Additional materials
We attempt to change the way tenants view/ use the space by layering gaps and closures within the square rooms indoors. It’s through these tiny leaks of space that people feel others’ presence. We intend to redefine “company” through space design.

By amplifying middle space and minimizing the private rooms, we save ample hallways and stairs, which can serve multiple roles with a little expansion to become platforms for interaction or children’s corners.

By breaking the stereotypes for indoor space, we emphasize an organic way of living. People can decide how to use the space spontaneously, have fun together and enjoy diversity in experiencing the same place. In tiny houses with fragmented space, design is not just about see-throughs and layers, it’s about unimagined experiences.

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