Dezeen Magazine

Mother's House by CPlus Architects

CPlus Architects uses pale bricks for "rustic" home in rural China

Pale brick, stone and timber were used to create a "rustic and warm feeling" at this home in rural China, designed by local studio CPlus Architects.

Named Mother's House, the home is located in Xiyang Village southwest of Beijing, and was designed by CPlus Architects to demonstrate the potential of often overlooked rural areas outside China's cities.

Exterior view of Mother's House in rural China
CPlus Architects has designed a "rustic" home in China

"In the near future, the countryside will be mobile, diverse and interconnected, offering spatial experiences and lifestyles not available in cities," explained the studio.

"New villages will attract new villagers and bring new forms of community. Mother's House was born in this context, as an independent experimental sample to help revitalise the villages," it added.

Entrance courtyard within rural home by CPlus Architects
The home is built from pale brick, stone and timber

The layout of the home was based on typical Chinese courtyard houses, organised around a large double-height living room and a covered terrace alongside an entrance yard.

CPlus Architects describes this area as a "grey space" that blends interior and exterior, with full-height glass doors, ramped paths and a built-in outdoor bench creating an accessible, flexible space.

Living room within Mother's House in China
A double-height living room is topped with a butterfly roof

"The 'outside' is not an adjunct to the 'inside', but the two are mutually beneficial, and even the inside is designed to realise the outside," described the studio.

"This grey space enables residents to extend their daily activities to the outdoors throughout the year, enjoying the breeze on summer nights, making tea in the snow on winter days, and celebrating important holidays with the whole family," it added.

The kitchen, dining room and first-floor study sit to the east close to the street, while the bedrooms and bathrooms are positioned across two floors on the western side of the site for greater privacy, overlooking the yard through large projecting box windows.

In the centre of the home, the double-height living space is wrapped by a wooden balcony above, beneath a concave ceiling formed by the butterfly roof and lined with wooden panelling.

Seating space within home by CPlus Architects
The kitchen and dining room are hosted on the ground floor

Externally, the home is finished with pale bricks, which have been laid vertically rather than horizontally. The facade is complemented internally by pale, plastered walls and woodwork, contrasted by dark stone floors in the living areas.

"The main colours of the interior and exterior of the building are all earth tones, blending in with the rural environment," explained the studio.

"Various materials such as brick, stone, wood, metal, fabrics and paints interweave different temperatures and textures in the light and darkness, bringing people a natural, rustic, warm and comfortable feeling," it added.

Study space within Mother's House in rural China
A study is located on the upper floor

Elsewhere in China, Wonder Architects also explored the potential of modern homes in the renewal of traditional, rural settings with its green-ceramic tile clad extension to a brick house in Yangqing.

The photography is by Zhu Yumeng unless otherwise stated.

More images and plans

Site plan of Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Site plan
Ground floor plan of Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Ground floor plan
First floor plan of Mother's House by CPlus Architects
First floor plan
Section of Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Section
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Photo by Liu Jing
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Photo by Liu Jing
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Photo by Liu Jing
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Photo by Liu Jing
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Photo by Liu Jing
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects
Mother's House by CPlus Architects