Z House

Yantai, China

Photo © Gu Haiyang

Apartment Buildings

Architects: CU Office

Location: Yantai, China
Year: 2017
Structure Engineering Consultant: H & J International

Z House is located in an ordinary high-rise residential building. The owner has two apartments next to each other in different floor. According to the owner's request, the two apartments will form one apartment with communication spaces and living spaces. In this design, we convert the two apartments on different floors from a spatial relationship of parallel to each other into a spatial relationship that overlaps vertically. The apartment still retains two entrances and exits, one on the lower floor connecting the outward space and one on the upper floor connecting the inward space. In order to realize the transformation of spatial character, we designed a two-story patio space in the living room of the outward space, and a luminous ceiling that simulates the skylight. An uncharacteristic apartment was transformed into a courtyard. The ingenious streamline design allows the inward and outward spaces to be tightly integrated through two sets of stairs, and the two apartments become one.