The Nine-Court Mansion, a high-end eco-residence project located in Chayuan District of Chongqing, is meant to create a new life style of Oriental implication by incorporating the stable spirit of Oriental tradition, exploiting the modern Oriental artistic expression and upgrading the function of residential areas.
Winner – Urban Design & Architecture Design Awards 2019
Firm | Shenzhen Y.An Design Consulting co., LTD
Category | Landscape Design (Built)
Team | Jian’an Zhou, Xin Li, Jigang Li, Tiancai Liang, Xianlun Tao, Guowei Zhang, Fangfang, Qiuhui An, Jing Wang，Wei Chen, Yuying Qiao
Country | China
Due to the neglect of traditional Chinese culture nowadays, the Chinese life aesthetics of peace and harmony and the belief that man is an integral part of nature have been gradually forgotten. The objective of this project is to introduce and represent elements in traditional Chinese culture using contemporary design methods to arouse and enhance recognition for and regard to it, and to improve the living standard of residents as well.
The name of the project, the Nine-Court Mansion, originated from the practice in China that there are nine spaces at most in a mansion no matter how large it is. Based on this practice, we constructed nine spaces and grouped them into three steps of the home-returning ceremony which are Entering the Gate to Behold the Mansion, Enjoying the Scenery in the Courtyard and Resting the Soul at Home respectively.
The nine spaces and the three-step home-returning ceremony spread along the longitudinal landscape axis which is around 145 meters long and 25 meters wide. The three-step home-returning layout is a complete representation of three different experiences during the process of returning home, from the Urban Prosperity to the Landscape of Nature, then to the Indoor Courtyard. The nine spaces representing the specific functions and activity areas are designed on the basis of each of the three experiences in the process of returning home.
The descriptions for the three-step home-returning layout and the nine spaces are as follow:
The first step of the layout (Greeting Pool Courtyard, Water with Flute Music, Hall of Forest,): the entrance area which adopt regulations of mansions of ancient Chinese princes and demonstrates the etiquette of family mansions.
The second step of the layout (Pavilion on Waves, Ever-Bright Pond, Cottage under Clouds, Pond by Woods, Hall of Vanilla): the core living area which integrates the swimming pool, lawn and waterscape into the courtyard layout, which is indispensable for a traditional mansion, and highlights the sense of belonging and cohesiveness.
The third step of the layout (Conversation Garden): the exquisite leisure living garden.
The design approach pays attention to the modern interpretation of Chinese elements such as the oblique roof of traditional buildings and the exterior wall decoration of traditional dragon scales, which shows lightsome style and antique nobleness.
