An Amazing Home Rises From an Abandoned Ruin in China

In the remote village of Longtan in Anhui Province, China, RSAA / Büro Ziyu Zhuang transforms a ramshackle ruin into an enchanting home straight out of a folktale.

Text by

Michele Koh Morollo

Published by

Dwell

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In Chinese architecture, the basic building block is referred to as a bay—the space between the roof supports. This modern home was once a dilapidated house built in the traditional Huizhou and Yanjiang style, with three bays along the east-west axis, and one bay along the south-north axis. After sitting abandoned for ten years, the home was overgrown with weeds, and its roof and walls were badly damaged.

Tongling Recluse looks out upon pristine mountain vistas.

Photo by Shengliang Su

The eaves create sheltered walkways around the house.

Photo by Shengliang Su

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Old and new combine in this enchanting restoration and renovation project.

Photo by Shengliang Su

The idea for a new 1,722-square-foot house was born when the home's owner spoke to Ziyu Zhuang of RSAA: "Look at the tallest tree that survived in our village. It’s beautiful. It should be seen in this house after it's been rebuilt." And so the design of the home, named Tongling Recluse, evolved around preserving the tree and elements from the old ruins.

RSAA thoughtfully integrated fully glazed walls with the house's old bones.

Photo by Shengliang Su

The house sits well within a rocky forest landscape.

Photo by Su Shengliang

Keeping the tree in mind, Zhuang divided the ruins of the old walls into two parts. He added a new bay to the west and oriented it towards a rocky mountain. Another bay enlarges the main living areas.

"We used a sweeping curvature that rises to create an imaginary space detached from the original projection. Because of the limitation of the original height of the old house, and its badly damaged roof, we added two new floors to the original building," says Zhuang.

Photo by Shengliang Su

A window looks down to the courtyard.

Photo by Shengliang Su

RSAA lowered the front of the roof’s ridge to create a traditional folded roof that integrates harmoniously with the streamlined interior spaces.

"The new ridge formed a bay of its own. One half of this bay is incorporated into the outdoor contour of the original building, while the other half forms the veranda under the eaves. The design reveals a virtual space against the physical house in the east elevation and converses with the sunken garden landscape in the south," says Zhuang.

A corridor on the second floor.

Photo by Shengliang Su

The dining and living areas are separated by a suspended, copper-plated staircase.

Photo by Shengliang Su

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The middle section of an old wall creates a courtyard where the owner can stargaze at night.

Photo by Shengliang Su

The terrace, living room, dining room, and kitchen are located along the more exposed eastern side of the house. The courtyard and bedroom are located along the more private western section.

The bay on the west side of the home contains a bedroom.

Photo by Shengliang Su

The bathroom on the second level.

Photo by Shengliang Su

The entrance gate to the house.

Photo by Shengliang Su

The roof draws upon traditional Chinese aesthetics.

Photo by Shengliang Su

RSAA incorporated the old, damaged walls into the new residence.

Photo by Shengliang Su

A copper entrance at the back of the house.

Photo by Shengliang Su

An aerial view of Tongling Recluse.

Photo by Ting Xu

The home's gray tile roof matches the roofs of the other houses in the ancient village.

Photo by Shengliang Su

The state of the building before the renovation.