Concrete Slit House / AZL architects

© Iwan Baan

Architects: AZL architects – Zhang Lei
Location: Nanjing, Jiangsu Province,
Project Team: Zhang Lei, Meng Fanhao, Cai Menglei, Lu Yuan, Tang Xiaoxin
Collaborator: Architectural Design & Planning Institute, Nanjing University
Project area: 270 sqm
Project year: 2006 – 2008
Photographs: Iwan Baan

© Iwan Baan

Slit House is a contemporary residence enmeshed within a quiet Kuomingtang-era neighborhood in central Nanjing. The entire structure and roof are made from pressed into a custom mould, handmade from five-centimeter horizontal wood strips to remain in scale with the adjacent century-old brick buildings. The slit in the creates transparency as it responds to interior circulation, and provides different programmes with differing interior heights & elevations, thus crates in upper bedrooms half floor volume shifting for its privacy. The living room spans over two stories, the dining area extends over one and half levels, and remaining bedrooms and studies occupy single storey spaces.

basement plan
© Iwan Baan

Even though China consumes almost half of the world’s supply of concrete, and Nanjing has seen thirteen-hundred new concrete high-rises in the past twenty-five years, Slit House is the first honest concrete building in Nanjing.

* Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
Cite: "Concrete Slit House / AZL architects" 03 May 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 21 May 2013. <http://www.archdaily.com/132139>

11 comments

  11. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    glad to see the efforts and brilliant works of chinese architects. its an exciting trend that living level and aethestic standard of clients continuous improve.

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