Situated in subtropical forests of the mountains of Yilan in Taiwan, an area renowned for hot spring culture. Water plays a fundamental role in shaping both the environment and local culture. It nourishes forests, forms waterfalls, flows through rivers, and ultimately reaches the ocean. This hydrological cycle is renowned for its purity, and local residents have integrated water thoughtfully into their daily lives. The project is conceived as the balance between nature and human habitation. It seeks to emphasize the significance of water as a formative element of the landscape. The architecture draws inspiration from nature-integrated design, exemplified by hot spring traditions, which displays a coexistence among water, topography, and human activity. Following this principle, the architecture seeks to embed water as an element within the building, extending its role beyond functional utility to become a medium through which spatial, sensory, and cultural dimensions are articulated.
The project is conceived as a forest clearing—a pond—drawing on two primitive spatial archetypes: the den and the nest. The den is sunken and shadowed; the nest is elevated, light, and open to the sky. The house reconciles these conditions by pairing an earthbound interior with an open, elevated retreat. A sunken living space is encircled by four load-bearing masses that define a central communal area, with corner niches admitting daylight. One mass shifts toward the pool to form a larger opening, creating an earthen tea space where the landscape extends into the interior. Bedrooms are carved into three masses, partially buried and oriented toward the hillside, reinforcing intimacy and continuity with the terrain. The fourth mass contains bathing spaces and a spiral stair leading to a roof sauna, where you emerge from below the surface of the pond, a cascading plane of water reflecting the sky and trees. A glass box sauna and deck provide moments to enjoy the open canopy.
