Young Thai studio HAS Design and Research has just completed Forest Villa, its latest residential project, which balances the tightrope between urban and rural, organic nature and crisp, humanmade minimalist architecture.
The project is located on the outskirts of Hefei, near the Dashu Mountain National Forest Park in China. It is an adaptation of an existing building, so the structure's bones were already there, and the architects, led by studio founders Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee, had to work with them, and wrap them into their own design concept, which centres on serenity and a pared-down approach.
Forest Villa: a home in paradise
The site is located within a particularly picturesque green landscape. The architects wanted to make the most of this, as well as the existing structure on the plot, intending their design to both complement and contrast with its surroundings. '[We] proposed a new strategy that not only improved the functional spaces but also enhanced the site characteristics through three elements: shell, hole, and void, for a sense of extraordinary living experience in the Forest Villa,' they write.
To achieve this, the team wrapped the existing building in a shell of colonnades, crafting geometry and enabling a flowing indoor/outdoor experience for the residents. Climbing plants and mature trees engulf the home and peer into the resulting semi-open spaces.
Inside, a minimalist approach creates flexible, neutral spaces, detailed with care and expressing a calm that matches the nature outside. Spanning four levels, the home includes a striking double-height living space, five bedrooms, and a selection of family rooms for the residents to enjoy.
'Forest Villa is inspired by reverence and analogy of nature, allowing the architecture to learn from the natural growth of a forest, such as a sequence of pillars like a grove of trees, with each pillar having random textures and proportions for a tactile and visual sensation,' the architects write. 'The space is sustainable and timeless.'
-
Fluid workspaces: is the era of prescriptive office design over?We discuss evolving workspaces and track the shape-shifting interiors of the 21st century. If options are what we’re after in office design, it looks like we’ve got them
-
This collection of slow furniture is a powerful ode to timeA serene exhibition of David Dolcini's 'Time-made' collection has fast-tracked its place into our hearts and homes
-
Is the Pragma P1 the most sustainable watch yet?Geneva-based brand Pragma combines industrial design with real sustainable credentials
-
Bold, geometric minimalism rules at Toteme’s new store by Herzog & de Meuron in ChinaToteme launches a bold, monochromatic new store in Beijing – the brand’s first in China – created by Swiss architecture masters Herzog & de Meuron
-
The upcoming Zaha Hadid Architects projects set to transform the horizonA peek at Zaha Hadid Architects’ future projects, which will comprise some of the most innovative and intriguing structures in the world
-
Liu Jiakun wins 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize: explore the Chinese architect's workLiu Jiakun, 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, is celebrated for his 'deep coherence', quality and transcendent architecture
-
Zaha Hadid Architects reveals plans for a futuristic project in Shaoxing, ChinaThe cultural and arts centre looks breathtakingly modern, but takes cues from the ancient history of Shaoxing
-
The Hengqin Culture and Art Complex is China’s newest cultural megastructureAtelier Apeiron’s Hengqin Culture and Art Complex strides across its waterside site on vast arches, bringing a host of facilities and public spaces to one of China’s most rapidly urbanising areas
-
The World Monuments Fund has announced its 2025 Watch – here are some of the endangered sites on the listEvery two years, the World Monuments Fund creates a list of 25 monuments of global significance deemed most in need of restoration. From a modernist icon in Angola to the cultural wreckage of Gaza, these are the heritage sites highlighted
-
Tour Xi'an's remarkable new 'human-centred' shopping district with designer Thomas HeatherwickXi'an district by Heatherwick Studio, a 115,000 sq m retail development in the Chinese city, opens this winter. Thomas Heatherwick talks us through its making and ambition
-
Raw, refined and dynamic: A-Cold-Wall*’s new Shanghai store is a fresh take on the industrial lookA-Cold-Wall* has a new flagship store in Shanghai, designed by architecture practice Hesselbrand to highlight positive spatial and material tensions
