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Architects: Waterfrom Design co. Ltd. / Nic Lee
- Area: 462 m²
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:Sam Tsen
Text description provided by the architects. Located at Tamsui City overlooking the estuary of Tamsui River under Mount Guanyin and featuring a private home spa pool in each unit, this famous luxury residential tower manifests a housing concept comprising pool views, river views and sea views. To extend into the interior magnificent scenes of colorful water ripple reflections during Tamsui sunset, a creative design approach has been adopted with Italian Memento antiqued-effect porcelain tiles paved on the floor in great areas interpreting genus loci, a pervading spirit of the place, while handmade faux stone uneven finish echoes the ruffling tiny waves on water surface. With magical power exerted by time, all activities and moods in this vacation residence seem to be slowing down. Things though sharing the same space and time, illusion of time dilation appears.
A distinctive atmosphere of frozen timelessness in the place is what we aspire to catch with the flowing river in front and the passing sun overhead left as the only moving things. Neutral colors and earth tones, such as beige in the leather main wall, beige grey in floorings, light brown green granite back wall and off-white in travertine main wall have been used to convey moods of placidity and steadiness of the space, while the shared feel and warmth of these grained materials as well as the perpetualness communicated by their being simple and unadorned respond to Piet Mondrian’s usage of primary colors. Colors help set boundaries to a space rather than decorate it.
Pattern of manifestation is based on De Stijl, or Dutch neoplasticism: pure abstraction and simplicity with appearances reduced to essentials of forms but ignoring curves and natural forms while visual balance is attained via precise manipulation of planes, lines and rectangles. Inspired by works of Piet Mondrian and eliminating colorfulness, the design of back wall in living room creates rhythmicity with asymmetry bringing equalitarianism and dynamic equilibrium into the picture. Constructivism has been employed in shoe cabinet design near the entrance. Instead of building one bulky cabinet, it is deconstructed and reorganized into four separate cabinets allowing light with rhythmic feelings to come in between introducing the space layout. In contrast to the open river view, interior of the apartment is a comparatively closed space and an approach has been attempted to create outward oriented openness in all directions producing an effect of extending to infinity. Hence, all activities, including cooking and exercising, have been guided to be conducted facing the Tamsui River. Broadened passageways and free-standing furniture, including sofa, kitchen islands and exercising equipment, ensure continuous traffic flow without blocked views in any direction.
