KUU: minus k house
minus k house’ by KUU in nanhui, shanghai, china all images courtesy KUU image © jeremy san / stzernstudio
shanghai-based practice KUU (kok-meng tan, satoko saeki) has sent us images of their most recent project ‘minus k house’, a private dwelling adjacent to the client’s slipper factory in nanhui, china. composed of two components – a weekend house and a residence for the worker – the design is a collection of 3m by 3m volumes that connect to one another to result in a flowing and porous circulation within.
looking in from the exterior image © jeremy san / stzernstudio
while the project was conceived as two separate residences, the design achieves a highly interconnected atmosphere for its inhabitants: a large table placed at the center of the layout acts as the anchor to the space with the rest of the house pinwheeling off of its point. the two kitchens and a pair of courtyards are placed at the table’s four corners, enabling the clients’ and the worker’s families to cook facing one another through a diagonal opening.
facade image © jeremy san / stzernstudio
view of a courtyard image © jeremy san / stzernstudio
a series of intersection wall sections continue the language of the exterior to the interior, making transparent the design’s box-like composition. passageways of each room seemingly spills on to each room, promoting a sense of free movement and openness. while largely connected, careful attention was paid to place the programs of the respective houses at an appropriate distance to promote a comfortable level of privacy. the project is an new type of structure that explores shared housing models at a small scale.
interior view image © jeremy san / stzernstudio
image © jeremy san / stzernstudio
image © jeremy san / stzernstudio
central table looking diagonally into other house image © jeremy san / stzernstudio
kitchen next to courtyard image © jeremy san / stzernstudio
image © jeremy san / stzernstudio
bedroom image © jeremy san / stzernstudio
schematic diagram
site plan
floor plan / level 0
floor plan / level +1
section a-a
section b-b
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The interior design is right up there; however I wouldn’t want to be in the dwelling should there be an earthquake d:-)
Overwhelming texture overshadows interesting spaces. Eventually the mortar in the kitchen (at least) will be black because it is going to be very tough to clean.
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super cute illustraion!
Guess if you spent most of your life in prison, this might appeal to you. To me it looks like a raw and ugly collection of boxes. Mind you – as teenager I used to hang around in abandoned white-brick buildings. Unfortunately for this project the wooden flooring and warm light does not help to overcome the sensation of being in a soviet era again.
like a mini Habitat
love the rawness of the whitewashed ragged brickwork
superduper! I´d like to move in immediately.
one of the most romantic houses i’ve seen in awhile
Well I loved the project, I think it has many rminiscences of the Brick houses of Mies van der Rohe, with the different volumes opening the space in the depth of the project, Ithink the way the materials were treated are very honest, you understand how it is structured. I really liked it