For large-scale residential projects, the primary task is to construct a suitable scene and scale, based on a shared understanding of life with the client. Even with the ample square footage, Designer Ruoqiao Chai maximized the utility of every space rather than creating empty rooms that might only be used once or twice a year. So, we don’t have any amenities such as guest room, home theatre, recreation room, or gym, we focused on better serving practical living needs. This ensures that everyone has intuitive pathways to move through, and their own space to relax or interact, while maintaining a comfortable sense of personal distance.

‘It’s almost like we’re kind of enjoying blurring the lines between architecture and art. A space that combines them both helps us find a connection to inner worlds. Based on this shared understanding, the client gave us tremendous support, and for that we’re very grateful.’Many of these masterworks, from designers like Sergio Rodrigues, Jorge Zalszupin, and Osvaldo Borsani, are making their debut in Chongqing, a metropolis in southwest China. We also designed dozens of new works, to make this house unique and specific, even though we knew it would be a very challenging process.

Ruoqiao Chai is passionate about natural materials, with white plastered walls and limestone floor, walnut panels throughout the space. Maintaining the honesty of materials is how we engage with the passage of time, and it will make this house timeless and classic. A home inevitably reflects the true nature of its inhabitant. Chai Ruoqiao firmly believes that only a long-term, essence-driven way of living can allow a home to serve the real person, rather than perform a constructed state of being.