NSAAA Designs Rural Beijing Home With Craft in Mind

In the mountainous Huairou District of Beijing, architecture studio NSAAA (also known as Narrative Space) has completed a home that aims to create a sense of being at one with the natural world.

The “Slow Yard” house is located on a site that was once used as a military defense base but is now home to around 13 families. The architectural design sees the building organized into volumes, each of which opens out onto a central courtyard. Shapes and silhouettes are simple, but outdoor staircases leading in and out of different sections of the home create a sense of intrigue.

For the architects, though, it was the materiality of the project that really drove its concept. They wanted to ensure a sense of craftsmanship was felt throughout the property – and that the construction methods used had this hands-on approach at their core. “Humanity’s reliance on industrialization has reached an unprecedented level, from its beginnings as a convenience to the people to a point of total dependence,” they say. “Human hands are gradually being withdrawn from making and perceiving into a numbing tool that only taps on screens and delivers food to the mouth.”

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As an antidote to this way of seeing the world, a number of tactile choices were made. Brushed stone is the predominant finish for both the interior and exterior finishes, and is designed to blend in with the remains of the surrounding Ming Dynasty architecture. “This material, which has survived the ages, is, in our opinion, the perfect choice for reconstructing the history and memory of the site,” they say. “[By employing a] sense of craftsmanship through the very fundamental construction methods, we wish people to come here to touch, feel and think – to really feel a building and thus nature.”

Inside, dark timber has been used for window frames and doors – the color of which brings warmth to the concrete and stone surfaces. Light floods through the building via double-height and long, landscape apertures. On the roof, bleacher-like seating creates a space to sit and view the surrounding landscape from above the densely packed housing complex. “We firmly believe that the scene and story of space are the only means to make the building have tension,” the architects say. “Our work is more about striving to break the boundaries between architecture, interior, and landscape, trying to create space with light and materials in the most authentic and natural way, making space a place to express emotions.”

Take a look around the house above, and for more architecture – visit Masquespacio’s otherworldly “MO Bakery” in Saudi Arabia.