Gusu Aristo Villa / Shanghai Dushe Architectural Design

Architects: Shanghai Dushe Architectural Design
Location: Suzhou, China
Architect In Charge: Kege Ling, Qi Xu
Design Team: Di Qin, Qianlan Wang, Qiang Shen, Xiulian Ma, Siyu Lin
Landscape: Zhuyufan Studio
Area: 29799.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Yong Zhang

Text description provided by the architects. The Gusu Aristo Villa located at the center area of Suzhou, next to the Surging Wave Pavilion, which is a very traditional area in the city center. The culture environment provides this project a classic undertone.

The requirement of 0.64 on plot ratio heavily limited the planning and zoning of the site. Upon that, how to keep the traditional urban texture continue with such limitation was a big challenge. The designer wanted it to be more than just a residential community, but also a multi-functional neighborhood with artistic spirits.

Despite the landscape design in the villa area, there is a leading garden located at the entrance as an independent view. This garden on the west side provides a possibility for a traditional garden experience. People enters this neighbourhood through this garden. While walking through this picturesque landscape on the path, people can get a real poetic mood for the architecture.

Instead of forcing the impression of tradition on visitors with some iconic items like rockery, the design group wants the space to speak for itself. It is the classical space and beauty of nature that enhanced the traditional atmosphere.

White wall is one of the most important features of traditional southern architecture. In Gusu aristo villa, the white wall plays an important role in the appearance. It is the best canvas for shadows and lights to work their magic for the audience, and gives a poetic and peaceful environment. But it also made the manufacture not easy. To keep the finish layer smooth, the stone waste was grounded into powder and mixed with crack-sealer.

For the main walls, we chose Portuguese white sandstone. On the other hand, a series of problems such as waterproof and heat preservation, cost control and long-term maintenance were taken into account, so the final seam method was changed to glue.

The roof has a very specific radian. For the manufacture of the roof, we replaced roof tiles with titanium zinc plate in order to create a lightsome and elegant look. Besides, compared to the traditional roof tiles, this titanium zinc plate itself with standing seam system is better at waterproof and heat preservation.