Residence W by Fws Work
Residence W is a modern wooden apartment located in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, designed in 2021 by Fws Work.
Description
“An apartment renovation in Qinpu, Taiwan that embraces tranquility through a tactile palette of materials and refined craftsmanship.”
Residence W is designed by fws_work to bring a sense of tranquility to a home overlooking the city of Qinpu, known for its fast development and transportation hub. The owner, Wang is an airline pilot, spending most of his time constantly traveling between different countries with short stays. For Wang, home is a haven to provide a sense of relaxation at the moment when he arrives home.
To respond to Wang’s desire for relaxation, fws_work designs with tactile materials such as plaster and oak wood as the essential backdrop, accompanied with woven cane, ribbed glass, encaustic ceramic tiles and linen furnishings to form the sensory warmth. In addition, the refined craftsmanship is revealed in the consistent millwork details throughout. The selective material palette and joinery details evoke Wang’s memories of the country home in childhood as well as Mediterranean retreats during travels.
fws_work combines the entry, kitchen, reading, dining and living areas in a light-filled open-plan space to enhance the spaciousness and flexibility, while focusing on creating the intuitive circulation, based on Wang’s routines. The intuitive circulation is defined by the freestanding fixtures such as the half-height divider connecting to the reading desk and the extended kitchen counter. In the meanwhile, the existing heavy structural beam is clad with oak wood panels to visually separate the laid-back living and dining area from the function-driven reading and kitchen space, and softening the visual heaviness of the structural beam.
Contrasting with the laid-back feeling of the overall neutral palette, the black stained wood millwork, encaustic ceramic wall tiles, leather handles and stoned countertop shape the moody kitchen and extended bar counter. The darkness of the kitchen and bar counter fosters a pure state of immersion, that allows Wang to dive into his passions for cooking and whisky tasting. The warm shelf lighting penetrates through the rattan cabinet door, accompanied with the reflections of glasses and tableware behind to enrich the backdrop of the dining moments.
Connecting the open area with bedrooms and a multi-functional room, the transitional hallway is wrapped with oak wood panels and plaster walls. The partial partition wall was replaced by layers of woven cane panels and ribbed glass to bring the sunlight into the hallway, while providing privacy and sound insulation for the room. The lined-up joinery from walls to the ceiling creates depth and dimension when the light shines on. In addition, the circular wall light on the end echoes to the circular mirror in the entry, and balances with the straight-lined design language throughout the house.
In addition to the neutral palette consistent with the open area, the deep teal color blurs the boundary between the upper wall and the ceiling, and brings a sense of serenity into the bedroom for rest after a long day.
Photography courtesy of Fws Work
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- by Matt Watts
