Inheritance: A Modern Take on Traditional Living

Renovating a 40-year-old House into a Spacious, Light-Filled Home

The house, a wedding gift from the owner's father-in-law, was in need of renovation to fix its age-related problems and to create a more modern lifestyle. The design challenge was to improve the original indoor darkness and poor lighting condition, allowing natural light to permeate the interior. The solution was to use glass material for the exterior wall to the entryway, creating an open public area that is warm and spacious.

Inheritance is unique in its use of environmentally-friendly building materials, which form the feeling of the old space from the inside to the outside. This not only achieves dehumidification, but also meets the requirements of inheritance. The color space, introverted and earthy, is balanced with the warmth of solid wood skin, reconciling the integration of modernity and age.

The design was realized by adjusting the direction of the entrance and replacing the closed wave shield with glued glass. This allowed outdoor light to be introduced into the room. The outer wall was made using the traditional construction method of manually chiseling the stonework by an experienced worker, with environmentally-friendly building materials. The whole space is laid with clear water mold, pebble, and hand-made brick, creating a natural texture that is both modern and timeless.

The design also involved dismantling the partition wall of the original kitchen, opening up the entire space. The dining area serves as the core of the overall field, connecting the living room and kitchen. Through the wooden grille of the ceiling, the oppressive feeling of the low height of the house is transferred, making the vision more outspread. Metal lighting and yellow tone painting illuminate the visual sense and connect the fields.

The project, which started in August 2016 and finished in October 2017 in Taipei, Taiwan, faced the challenge of satisfying the elder in the space atmosphere adjustment, while also improving the indoor lighting. The result is a design that interprets the meaning of inheritance from generation to generation, creating a warm and spacious living environment that is filled with natural light.