Dragon Palace Aesthetics Center

The project is located in Dingnan County, the southernmost end of Jiangxi Province, where Hakka culture has developed since ancient times. Based on the study of local culture, geographical conditions and local characteristics, the design team decided to draw inspiration from Hakka enclosure houses. By capturing the spiritual core of traditional Hakka house and its design philosophy that creates a unified large house through rich layer of enclosures, a unique Aesthetics Center was created.
In this project, the elements of Hakka enclosure houses are interpreted by traditional Chinese Fengshui concepts, such gathering wind and qi through enclosures, twists and turns. Based on this, the property model display area is translated into a traditional Tian Jin (small courtyard), the bar counter visualizes a garden, and a suspending screen wall creates a unique foyer.
Through referring to "framed scenery" — a technique of traditional Chinese gardens, the window openings in the space connect separated areas. The door openings without door leaf complement each other well, enriching the sense of layering of the space.
Multiple elements are used to present the aesthetics of mountain dwellings. Upward stairs resemble undulating mountains, and the protruding balcony turns into a carefully-designed sightseeing platform. The design team intended to build interaction between the first floor with the second floor, and this evokes a line from a famous Chinese poem by Bian Zhilin — "As you are enjoying the scenery on a bridge, upstairs on a tower people are watching you".
In the dialogue between indoor and outdoor spaces, various spatial experiences are created by traditional techniques including "borrowed scenery", "framed scenery", extension and combination. The Dragon Palace Aesthetics Center presents the emotional relationship within Hakka enclosure houses through its architectural form, and as a culture carrier, it promotes the city's benign upgrading and reflects its cultural context.