House of Dayou

Conceived for Shanghai-based artist Dayou Geng, the residence serves not merely as a domestic interior, but as a spatial extension of the client's physical and creative being. Rejecting traditional floor plans, the intervention transforms a former industrial envelope into a continuous, open architectural system capable of evolving alongside his multifaceted practice—bridging art, spirituality, and everyday social life.

Everyday living areas are separated into distinct, freestanding pavilions. To preserve the purity of the unique materiality of each room, no doors are directly visible from the main space. Access to private spaces requires navigating around the blind corners of each pavilion to discover the thresholds. This approach eliminates the standard corridor, transforming the simple act of entering a room into a deliberate, tactile spatial sequence.

Operating as the gravitational center, the primary living space remains radically unobstructed to accommodate large-scale readings, social events, and musical production. In stark contrast, the studio is constructed as a fully transparent frame, deeply integrating the artist’s creative process with his daily domestic rhythms.

Ascending to the upper terrace, the boundaries between the industrial shell and the surrounding urban fabric dissolve. The dining block and expansive viewing decks stretch outward with a view of the surrounding tree canopies, securing a brutalist yet deeply grounded urban sanctuary.