Simply Living Residence: A Masterpiece of Functional Design

Daniel Hu's Award-Winning Design Balances Residential and Work Spaces

The residence, which has been standing for 30 years, was transformed into an interior design atelier with residential and living functions. The design breaks away from the conventional three-room planning, which often results in a layout with poor circulation path. Instead, Hu has created a multi-functional region quality through circulation flow. This allows the space and its functionality to be easily converted to suit the usage needs of a residential area, working studio, or tea-tasting room.

The design's unique properties lie in its ability to minimize the framework of doors, going against conventional interior layout. The axis of a custom-made long table generates functions such as conference, office work, reading and dining, while also bringing in sunlight into the public domains. This design approach allows the interior to have an expandable and flexible interior.

The Simply Living Residence was realized using materials such as wooden-brushed, mortex, black iron, stainless steel, masonry tiles, and mirror. The interior area is of 78 square meters, with a balcony of 12 square meters. The design project started in January 2018 in Taipei and was completed in August 2018.

One of the challenges faced by Hu was to create a free floor-plan structure that allows all partitioning mediums to leisurely formulate a liberated format and relationship with one another. This was achieved through the use of revolving or sliding door panels to control the spatial formation in facilitating any usage needs. As all door panels and cabinet volumes are all in synergy, all the storages seemed to have vanished into an abstract except in actual usages.

The design focuses on optimizing spatial comfort to the max, so that every angle taken during the working or living program can be connected with one another. This not only strengthens the connection and extension of the space but also establishes the most important core value of the entire floor plan layout. Through the lens of deconstructionism methodology, it redefines the space by boldly opening up portioning, as flexible door and wall spaces unify the living room, dining room and master bedroom area in maximizing the spatial usage efficiency in fulfilling either work or living.

The Simply Living Residence is a testament to the innovative and creative prowess of Daniel Hu. The design, which embodies the principles of 'Less is More' and 'Design by Subtraction', stands as a shining example of how interior design can be used to create spaces that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional and adaptable to the changing needs of its occupants.