Silver Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2026
Tongli Villa Residential
- A' Design Award 2026 Silver Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: Hangzhou Shihe Design
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 20,888
- Verification code 256222D8E7 · Verify this award
About Tongli Villa Residential
Tongli Villa is a residential interior design for a three-level house with a total floor area of about 450 square meters. The layout is open and free flowing, without partition walls, and it includes an attic lounge left without a ceiling. Natural materials define the interior, among them untreated teak, blackened anti-corrosion timber, and hand-applied mud walls. Ornament is kept to a minimum, so texture and daylight shape each room. The design reflects the Miao heritage of the homeowner and supports a calm and slow daily life.
Tongli Villa Residential by Hangzhou Shihe Design exemplifies a contemporary approach to domestic architecture that draws deeply from material authenticity and the phenomenological experience of dwelling. The interior space presented here demonstrates a refined understanding of how natural materials—oak, concrete, travertine, and mineral plaster—can establish an environment of profound tranquility while maintaining visual sophistication. The designers appear to engage with traditions of spatial continuity found in both modernist precedents and vernacular residential architecture, creating rooms that flow seamlessly while retaining distinct functional identities through subtle shifts in floor level, ceiling treatment, and material application. The geometric ceiling installation in the upper right portion introduces an element of measured luminosity, where recessed amber light sources arranged in a rhythmic grid pattern suggest both traditional lattice screens and contemporary lighting innovation, achieving a synthesis that honors heritage while embracing present sensibilities. Compositionally, the space demonstrates masterful control of visual weight distribution, with the substantial column anchoring what might otherwise read as excessive horizontal extension, while the varied heights of furniture pieces and the careful placement of ceramic and organic accessories create rhythmic interest across the visual field. The chromatic restraint—limiting the palette to earth tones punctuated only by the sophisticated blue-grey of the primary seating element—creates an atmosphere conducive to contemplation and restoration, positioning the dwelling as sanctuary from visual overstimulation. One might observe how the distant garden views, framed through expansive glazing, function not merely as decorative backdrop but as integral compositional elements that extend the perceived boundaries of the interior space infinitely outward.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This residential design captures the essence of emotional connection, cultural resonance, and sensory comfort. Blending raw materials such as teak, charred wood, artistic mud walls, and hand collected objects, the space abandons decorative excess to return to elemental simplicity. The spatial layout is fluid, resisting traditional segmentation. Instead, it becomes a canvas for daily rituals, emotional anchoring, and inner peace: an aesthetic of stillness and lived poetry.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The house includes three levels with a total floor area of approximately 450 sqm. Key spatial elements include a horizontally open plan ground floor, an unceiled attic lounge, and a free flow layout without partition walls. Materials are predominantly natural and untreated, aligning with the spatial philosophy of sensory grounding.
- Tags
- Emotional Dwelling, Poetic Minimalism, Miao Culture, Nature Inspired Interior, Raw Materials, Timeless Design, Slow Living, Cultural Resonance, Organic Textures, Meditative Space
- Production Technology
- The project adopts a material first approach rooted in authenticity. Teak wood was used untreated to preserve its warmth and grain, while blackened anti corrosion timber adds weight and durability. Hand applied mud walls and artistic paint deliver texture and tone without ornament. The approach emphasized manual craftsmanship and intuitive layering over mechanical precision.
- Design Challenge
- The primary challenge was resisting conventional luxury symbols and instead crafting a space of deep emotional value. Balancing the owner's cultural identity with modern comfort required nuanced material choices, emotional mapping, and conceptual restraint. The absence of visual drama demanded heightened attention to detail, proportion, and sensory atmosphere.
- Project Duration
- The project started in January 2024 in Suzhou, China and finished in January 2025.
- Operation Flow
- The space invites slow, unstructured interaction. There are no dominant visual cues or rigid furniture placements. Instead, the flow is organic light guides the user, and silence defines transitions. It's not about usage, but co existence: the homeowner doesn't use the space, she dwells within it, rhythmically, intuitively.
- Research
- This is an applied cultural emotional design study exploring how spatial language can translate heritage and emotional needs into form. The methodology involved user immersion, ethnographic interviews, and contextual material selection. The homeowner's daily habits, values, and sensory preferences were key data points. The result is a space that not only houses the body but also resonates with memory, ritual, and inner calm enhancing the broader conversation on design’s emotional efficacy.
- Inspiration
- The homeowner's Miao heritage and natural lifestyle philosophy inspired a design that values emotional depth over surface form. Influenced by vernacular dwellings and poetic Eastern aesthetics, the concept centers on the idea of a home as a place of stillness, reflection, and healing. Rain falling on tiles, shifting light across earth toned walls, and silence within wooden textures form the emotional blueprint for the space.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Hanmo Vision - Yigao, Tongli Villa, 2025.
Image #1: Photographer Hanmo Vision - Yigao, Tongli Villa, 2025.
Image #1: Photographer Hanmo Vision - Yigao, Tongli Villa, 2025.
Image #1: Photographer Hanmo Vision - Yigao, Tongli Villa, 2025.
Image #1: Photographer Hanmo Vision - Yigao, Tongli Villa, 2025.