This Chinese house blends minimalism and red accents
Red Box is a house in China that combines calm, clean, minimalism with red accents and a geometric exterior, courtesy of local practice AD Architecture
A minimalist aesthetic of clean surfaces and neutral, light colours blends with red accents in this Chinese house in Xinxi Town. The project, a new-build family residence in the heart of the city’s Zhongsanhe Village, a bustling area that retains a traditional feel, is the brainchild of Chinese practice AD Architecture. Named Red Box, the house is a geometric composition that resembles an architectural Tetris game from the outside, while revealing a haven of calm inside.
Combining red split bricks and white matt tiles, the house features an eye-catching façade that cuts a clean, contemporary figure among its neighbours. Spanning seven floors, the residence also includes retail on the ground floor and a commercial space above this. The home occupies the composition’s upper levels, enjoying long views of the cityscape.
Inside, the sense of serenity and domestic calm is underlined by the use of cool, natural materials in neutral colour tones. There is a white marble floor in the living room and dining area, while the bedrooms and family room are clad in milky-white paint and wood veneers that add warmth to the whole. Meanwhile, red accents in the bespoke kitchen cabinetry and among the furniture – such as the distinctive sofas in the living space – subtly echo the exterior red brick wall.
Part of the architects’ goal was to create something that feels entirely tailormade to the residents’ needs, instead of mimicking surrounding architecture. AD Architecture’s chief designer Xie Peihe, a local to Xinxi Town, felt the need to challenge the local norm. ‘[I wanted] to explore new possibilities of connecting the present and the future,’ he says, ‘breaking and redefining the status quo, while retaining the intimate relationship between people and architecture.
‘[Eventually, the design] may not represent a sea change, but it does make a difference to the residents’ lives,’ he adds. ‘And it is a process I enjoy.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiences
Aesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternatives
From the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Berlinde De Bruyckere’s angels without faces touch down in Venice church
Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere’s recent archangel sculptures occupy the 16th-century white marble Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore for the Venice Biennale 2024
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Beijing City Library is an otherworldly escape from the digital world
Beijing City Library by Snøhetta is a flowing, welcoming space to share knowledge and socialise
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Chinese scholar Zhang Taiyan’s house opens as a museum and bookshop in Suzhou
20th-century Chinese scholar Zhang Taiyan’s house in Suzhou has opened to the public as a museum, featuring a bookshop designed by Tsing-Tien Making
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Jiaxing’s sunken train station is a hub of urban greenspace and efficient city links
Jiaxing Train Station by MAD Architects is a bubble of urban green space with a blend of reconstructed historical design and modern minimalism
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Junya Ishigami’s Zaishui Art Museum in China was conceived as a ‘gentle giant’
Japanese architect Junya Ishigami completes Zaishui Art Museum, a kilometre-long building positioned in a manmade lake and aiming to ‘bring the outside landscape in’
By Joanna Kawecki Published
-
Sun Tower, rising on Yantai’s waterfront, wins Best Building Site in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024
We take a tour of the building site at Sun Tower, Open Architecture's new nature-inspired cultural attraction for the seaside town of Yantai in China
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Minimalist architecture: homes that inspire calm
These examples of minimalist architecture place life in the foreground – clutter is demoted; joy promoted
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Forest Villa transforms an existing building shell into a minimalist villa engulfed in nature
Forest Villa by HAS is a minimalist home in suburban China, crafted in an existing building shell, and working with its idyllic natural context
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Chinese island house brings luxury minimalism to seaside living
L House by AD Architecture is a Chinese island house that bridges luxury minimalism and seaside living
By Ellie Stathaki Published