a village house

Our client is a horse lover who lives alone and decided to move near the Beas River Country Club in Sheung Shui where she takes her horses on a ride several times a week.

The project is a typical countryside village house ground floor flat measuring 700sqft; it comes with an external private garden guarded by a low level fence. In Hong Kong, properties in similar setting are rather mundane, typified by their use of external ceramic tiles throughout which render such structure monotonous and formulistic. Our site is no different to this description and the brief is to explore creative means to re-vitalise the flat literally inside-out using a horse riding theme.

Immediately beyond the low fence there are several mature palm trees. Whilst the context beyond does not have any attractive view to speak of, by raising the height of the timber-cladded fence, the view from the living space is carefully transformed into a composed visual palette of the man-made and natural in which the majestic tree crown is framed by the sky and the newly-raised fence. The ceramic tiles building façade is also replaced with machined and recycled timber panels to create a rural and rustic appearance. Whilst the newly transformed outdoor space may not be considered poetic by any means, the new aesthetic, set against its existing environment is certainly distinctive and bring about an atmosphere that is calm and sophisticated.

A new door opening is inserted into the master bedroom; just like the front door they are both French doors. When fully opened the threshold between the inside and the outside space is blurred and the living space and the garden merge. These new doors also draw ample and dramatic morning sun light into the master bedroom, a god-send in a city cluttered with densely packed high rise striving to block each other’s view.

The interior surfaces are lined with a combination of grey granite tiles and oak veneers to form a minimal and monolithic aesthetic with a touch of Zen. A number of horse-themed details are strewn around the interior where appropriate. Coat hangers and door knobs are made out of used horseshoes taken from the owner’s horses and a horse pattern is embossed onto the master bedroom built-in wardrobe, further reinforcing the client’s love of horse.

Completed in 2013.