Zhang Taiyan's former residence has been reopened as a museum in the 20th-century Chinese scholar's home town of Suzhou. The interior, which will be accessible as a museum and historic attraction, is accompanied by a Gu Wu Xuan bookstore and café, designed by dynamic architecture studio Tsing-Tien Making – headed by architect Freja Bao.
Zhang Taiyan’s house becomes a home for books
Also known as Zhang Garden, the former residence of Zhang Taiyan was built between 1911 and 1949 and comprises three buildings, surrounded by a green, walled garden. The southernmost structure was preserved as a museum, while the other two contain the extensive bookshop and its café and communal areas.
Within this setting Tsing-Tien Making worked on a design that draws on the setting's natural foliage tones, bringing a selection of shades of green into the composition. Materials blend timber in natural tones and metal, which was used in a modular manner in the shelving and displays.
'Renovation is not simply about blending into the old. Instead, it involves the fusion of the old and the new to imbue this long-standing house a new language, from design to functionality and the experience it offers to visitors. We hope the story of Zhang Taiyan and his house do not stop in that specific time period but to continue, with the new memory and language, to carry forward,' Bao writes.
The architects had to respect the building's existing fabric (it has a protected heritage status), and worked on both repairing previously damaged areas, and opening up spaces to bring natural light in, and ensuring contemporary needs are met.
'The goal was to integrate the overall functionality of the Zhang Garden and create a comprehensive space that combines books, traditional culture, and the study of Chinese classics, to elevate visitors' experience through design interventions,' the architects write.
An interior defined by rich, dark colours; grids and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves; and curated views inside and out, promotes calm and a slowing down and appreciation of the environment's historic nature – as well as its connection with the urban green outdoors.
-
These ten albums had the best artwork of 2025A plethora of new releases this year look as good as they sound. Here are our favourites
-
Dib Bangkok, a new Thai cultural destination, celebrates rawness and local graceWith Dib Bangkok, Thailand’s first international contemporary art museum, Kulapat Yantrasast plays all the angles
-
Finnish Design Shop has unveiled an interiors collection inspired by the modernist art of Helene SchjerfbeckThe collection’s serene colour palettes and refined finishes draw directly from Schjerfbeck’s paintings, translating her Nordic modernist sensitivity into contemporary objects
-
Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu to curate the 2027 Venice Architecture BiennaleChinese architects Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu have been revealed as the curators of the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale
-
Tour this Chinese eco-farm, an imaginative wonderland connecting visitors with natureLuxeIsland Farm by Various Associates is an eco-farm and visitor attraction in China’s picturesque Wuhan region; take a stroll across its fantastical landscape
-
Honouring visionary landscape architect Kongjian Yu (1963-2025)Kongjian Yu, the renowned landscape architect and founder of Turenscape, has died; we honour the multi-award-winning creative’s life and work
-
A new AI data centre in Beijing is designed to evolve and adapt, just like the technology withinSpecialised data centre Spark 761, designed by llLab, is conceived as a physical space where humans and AI technology can coexist
-
Shanghai’s biennial, RAMa 2025, takes architectural exploration outsideRAMa 2025, the architecture biennial at Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai, launches, taking visitors on a journey through a historic city neighbourhood – and what it needs
-
Atelier About Architecture’s ‘house within a house, and garden within a garden’House J in Beijing, by Atelier About Architecture, is an intricate remodelling complete with a hidden indoor garden and surprising sight lines
-
A nature-inspired Chinese art centre cuts a crisp figure in a Guiyang parkA new Chinese art centre by Atelier Xi in the country's Guizhou Province is designed to bring together nature, art and community
-
Zaha Hadid Architects’ spaceship-like Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum is now openLast week, ZHA announced the opening of its latest project: a museum in Shenzhen, China, dedicated to the power of technological advancements. It was only fitting, therefore, that the building design should embrace innovation
