Cozy Essence: A Unique Residential Townhouse by Megalith Architects

Bringing Light and Elegance to Southern Taiwan

Owing to the environment of southern Taiwan, Tainan, where daylight is sufficient and adequate, this townhouse project focuses on bringing the daylight in and providing the best lighting for the interior spaces. Under the premise of designing a customized townhouse for a family of 4, Megalith Architects focused on finding the optimal solution to make the utmost use of this long, rectangular building shape while engaging all the living habits of a Taiwanese family.

This project, named Cozy Essence, aims to convey the concept of vivid light expression by utilizing the gradation of sunlight that reflects the warmness of wood materials and low-saturation wall cladding colors. The design optimizes the visual experience by using various glasses to generate a sense of solid and void that aligns with the idea of transparent space division. The interior facade is re-shaped by employing overlapping shelves, providing an elegant vibe through the careful selection of light, colors, and texture.

The overall design of Cozy Essence adopts a material palette including marble slate, solid wood, and various matte wall cladding to organize plenty of storage spaces and to display exquisite interior facade finishes. The use of figured glass, black tinted glass, and metal parts in the details adds pigment to the final assembly.

This 378.38 sq m 5-story townhouse features 3 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, an open kitchen, a dining area, and a living room. The lounges with floor-to-ceiling windows add light into the interior space, creating a cozy area that opens up a complete space from outside to the inside on the second floor, including the balcony, living room, dining area, and kitchen space. The linear living space contains different daily use functions yet connects all living habits and interactions of a family.

Located in Tainan City, Taiwan, Cozy Essence was completed in July 2019. The design team at Megalith Architects conducted thorough research on the building base, drawing inspiration from the long street houses in Taiwan. These unique housing union typologies were built alongside commercial canals with two sides of open windows and doors, where people conducted commercial activities, and the main family living area was based on the second floor. In Cozy Essence, the design team pays tribute to this history by applying the same methodology, using only two sides of open windows to develop the project.

In order to conform to the concept of a neat visual style and utilize colors and materials as mediums to enhance the living experience, the construction of Cozy Essence primarily focuses on the details that emphasize exact line expressions and underlying materials characteristics. Several re-assemble processes were inevitable to ensure project quality and rationality.

The integration of customized elements in Cozy Essence exhibits a welcoming environment while interpreting a distinct living philosophy. The design team aims to convey the idea of light expression by applying the gradation of sunlight that reflects the wood and low-saturation wall colors. The use of different materials, textures, and colors aligns with the original goal of providing an elegant vibe and comfort to the users.

Cozy Essence has been recognized for its outstanding design and creativity. It was awarded the Bronze A' Design Award in the Interior Space, Retail, and Exhibition Design category in 2020. This prestigious award is bestowed upon designs that authenticate experience and resourcefulness, incorporating best practices in art, science, design, and technology. Cozy Essence exhibits strong technical and creative skills and contributes to quality of life improvements, making the world a better place.

Image Credits: Photographer PoNien, Liu, Mooten Studio, 2019.

Intellectual Property Notice: Copyrights belong to Megalith Architects, 2019.