Architects C-Laboratory:
Marco Casagrande
Frank Chen
Construction work:
Marco Casagrande, Frank Chen, Shi-Ding Chen, Nikita Wu, Shu-Gi Bai
Local Knowledge:
Missis Lee
Location: Sanjhih, Taipei County, Taiwan
Site: 3890 m2 farm land, Datun Mountains
Building foot print: 138 m2
Interior space: 62,5 m2
Materials: mahogany, concrete
Completed: 2008

The house is realized on an old Japanese cherry-farm in the Datun -mountains of North Taiwan. It is designed as a vessel to react on the demanding wind, flooding and heat conditions on the site.
The house is a stick raised above the ground in order to let the floodwaters run under it. The different spaces are connected to a flexible movement within the axis of outdoor and indoor functions. The smaller bathroom and kitchen unit acts as a kicker stabilizing the wooden structure during the frequent typhoons and earthquakes. The bio-climatic architecture is designed to catch the cool breeze from the Datun river during the hot days and to let in the small winds circulating on the site between the fresh water reservoir pond and the farmlands. A fireplace is used during the winter for heating and for cooking tea. In connection with the bathroom is a small sauna. The house is not strong or heavy - it is weak and flexible. It is also not closing the environment out, but designed to give the farmers a needed shelter Ruin is when man-made has become part of nature. With this house we were looking forward to design a ruin.

In a dream last night, I saw a great storm. It seized the scaffolding. It tore the cross-clasps, the iron ones, down. But what was made of wood, swayed and remained.

Bertolt Brecht