KiKi ARCHi’s residential design is a seamless blend of classic and modern aesthetics
When KiKi ARCHi, an architecture firm—founded by Yoshihiko Seki and Saika Akiyoshi—centred close to household architecture, with offices in Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai, was entrusted with a temporary to construct a modern residence in Beijing, their greatest challenge was weaving in the client’s prized assortment of golden nanmu wooden furnishings. While the furnishings layout kinds the major character of the residence, the designer considered that it would flood the restricted living room. In addition, the classical type, sizing and common decoration lacked the likely to synergise with contemporary residing.




Nanmu is a kind of wooden, whose use can be traced back again to the imperial relatives in the Ming and Qing dynasties where by it was a well-liked architectural and furnishings product. Acquired from a species of the tree Phoebe zhennan, nanmu can develop up to 30 metres. In the past, the furnishings from this tree was so precious that only royal people could pay for its use. Its most noteworthy utilization is in the ‘Forbidden City,’ the place pillars had been produced making use of total wood logs. Chinese textbooks have documents of golden nanmu staying a fantastic and durable substance with a special texture and silky lustre, emitting delicate fragrances and becoming extremely sophisticated.




The private residence then, gets an exploration of combining the owner’s traditional selection passion with a style language that compliments a present-day life style. By generating modifications to the composition, format, daylight and materials texture of the household, a ‘sense of ritual’ and ‘inclusiveness’ was shown. It represents everyday living and the harmony in house and show style. The residence has a basement, two floors over floor and an attic. The 1st ground also consists of a terrace back garden.




The person is welcomed into the entrance hall with a double-quantity place. The designer has created a ‘patio’ with interiors flooded with normal light, softened by a textured artwork deco wall. The first washroom was taken out from the 2nd ground, producing a 5-metre-significant place which delivers down the gentle from the 2nd flooring to the first. This section is a prologue to the entire inside structure encounter, with a few colors of black, white and grey used in huge portions. They develop into integral backgrounds for the ‘traditional,’ ‘modern’ and ‘transition’ respectively. A translucent black-framed glass sliding door serves as a transitional element into the approaching darkish scene. The texture of the grey terrazzo connects with the outside, though the artwork deco wall makes a sense of rhythm.




The ‘coexistence of nanmu and modern life’ results in being the concept of the household design and style, with the tone, mild and texture of the house getting a position of stability for the connection among the nanmu picket furniture and the surroundings. The first floor—where the operator spends most of their time—makes for the centre place of the style and design. It is made up of the hallway, the dining room, the kitchen area, the tea space, the outdoor courtyard and so forth. The dwelling hall, previous the black framed glass sliding doorway, stands out in its daring black background. The form of the dwelling place originates from the ‘central room’ in traditional Chinese architecture. The golden nanmu long table and the calligraphy get the job done on the wall, propped against the black textured background, exhibit an old-earth allure. The sofa on the facet, with a rug beneath, breaks the symmetry in the common aesthetic, building the area extra comfortable and in contact with fashionable architecture. The spaces are properly-lit, with large openings welcoming organic gentle everywhere you go.




The dining space, hooked up to the dwelling area, conveys a brighter aspect. The personalized-manufactured tables, chairs, and aspect cupboards highlight the qualities of the golden nanmu wood with their unadorned attributes. The crafted-in side cupboard lets the place to categorical a feeling of quantity, since it does not take up open up house. It would make the cupboard seem visually lighter. The kitchen area, adjacent to the dining home and connected to the garden terrace, is specified a gray fashion, with a trace of warmth exuded from the wood cabinets. The lightness in kind was introduced by propping up the features versus the wall. Transparency was realized with the hanging cabinets, maximising the circulation of gentle and air.




The owner’s favourite space is the tea area, a glass space found at the finish of the initial flooring. It is hooked up to the garden terrace. Manufactured with an aluminium roof and glass partition, it gives an ethereal sensation. A feeling of timelessness is obtained with the space, as the space overlooks the back garden terrace with white walls. The minimalist garden has a sunken system and accesses the basement with an exterior stairway. The outside areas layer into a modern-day house just after the renovation. The space provides a feeling of freedom as it blurs the borders concerning the inside of and the exterior. The vegetation carry an earthiness to the spaces, completing the symphony of previous and new.




A modernist staircase with floating actions and a folded steel plate railing qualified prospects to the upper flooring. The encompassing art deco wall makes a perception of softness with all-natural light-weight, lending a sense of warmth to the room leading up to the more personal areas—the review place and the bed room. The attic—previously difficult to use—was remodeled into a little area for meditation, taking part in the zither and incensing—a space to link with oneself.




‘Mountains are far away,’ a musical piece by Yo-Yo Ma featuring common Chinese devices these types of as the pipa and the sheng, as nicely as a modern-day string quartet, building a exceptional mix, has a contemplative and peaceful high quality, with a regular rhythm and a light melody, comparable to the heat and richness that the golden nanmu home furnishings can bring to a fashionable interior. This task then, functions as an extension of KiKi ARCHi’s worth as a multinational design studio that internalises style for very well-becoming, by means of thoughtfully crafted simplicity.




Undertaking Particulars
Identify: Traditional Satisfies Modern

Area: Beijing, China

Space: 120 sqm

Year of completion: 2022

Architect: Yoshihiko Seki