In 2003, the founders and real estate developers of Soho China, Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin, were instrumental in kickstarting contemporary Chinese villa architecture and design by inviting a number of architects, including from other Asian countries, to work on a string of new villas. The modern style broke with the currently popular European neoclassical style, and since then the Chinese have been finding their own contemporary living style. With a booming economy has come the means and the confidence to develop an independent lifestyle identity, one that is no longer so reliant on the past, especially a Western past. The principal aesthetic has been one in which simplicity is emphasized in design as a way of expressing the nature of Chinese contemporary, leading people to seek more significance and spirit within the quality of simplicity. This contrasts with earlier aspirations of possessing a house with heavy and complicated decoration. The move that began just a decade ago with villas—to be expected because of the willingness of more wealthy home owners to experiment—has now spread to apartments and other, more affordable housing. Contemporary Chinese architecture and interior design is now in full flow.
Designed by Zhang Zi Hui and Chen Yi lang, the conversion of a four-bedroom space into a single-bedroom home allows more area for entertainment, study and living. Sliding doors decorated with paintings give access to the bedroom facing.
Natural wood with slatted panels combines with white fabric to create a warm yet unfussy atmosphere in a small space, here separating the larger living area from the small kitchen.
A double-height villa in the grand style, designed by Rocco lim. Windows cover one entire wall, while slatted ‘eaves’ outside filter sunlight.
An imaginative conversion of one floor in an old Shanghai lane house runs utilities and storage units in a kind of armature that interpenetrates the apartment. The wood paneling also serves as bench seating.