BAN Villa and the new rural community on the outskirts of Shanghai
BAN Villa and the new rural community on the outskirts of Shanghai

BAN Villa and the new rural community on the outskirts of Shanghai

The government of Jijiadun, where BAN Villa is located, decides to redevelop the village, an hour and a half away from Shanghai, to counter the Chinese phenomenon of urbanization that sees rural areas becoming increasingly empty

The BAN Villa project by B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio is located at the entrance to Jijiadun village, a small site surrounded on three sides by a small river, not far from farmland. The municipality, in order to breathe life back into the village, commissioned a team to rethink the possibilities of the relationship between the countryside and the city

BAN Villa and the new rural community on the outskirts of Shanghai

BAN Villa is an open, shared house: a small portion serves as a private residence for the owner, while the rest is a shared space with guests. The architecture of the villa is imagined as a space that emerges from the fabric of the traditional city on the water of Jiangnan

BAN Villa and the new rural community on the outskirts of Shanghai

The design concept is to create ten boxes that are independent of each other but connected by a large continuous space. Because of these spaces between the volumes, nature has the opportunity to penetrate inside, blurring the boundary between inside and outside. From a distance, the ten boxes look like a small floating village

BAN Villa and the new rural community on the outskirts of Shanghai

The choice of materials for both architecture and interior responds to the concept and spatial strategy: the designers choose different materials for each level to create a different atmosphere. The ground floor façade features laminated bamboo, which respectfully blends in with its surroundings while providing a warm and relaxing feeling with a soft touch, while pure white lends a sense of simplicity and cleanliness

BAN Villa and the new rural community on the outskirts of Shanghai

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