Villa Smriti Curtilage

Located in the Old City of Suzhou, adjoining the UNESCO-listed 17 century Couple Garden (耦园), the context of villa Smriti Curtilage (耦前) has retained many traces of the city’s rich history. As a representative of classical Suzhou Garden, the Couple Garden (耦园) is famous for its cultural style and romantic poetry. The garden symbolizes an inclusive relationship, which brings inspiration to the design of the villa Smriti Curtilage. For designers, the villa Smriti Curtilage represents a unique opportunity to blend nature, architecture, art, object and people with different backgrounds into a unified order.

The architecture and garden of villa Smriti Curtilage are interspersed with each other, making sure that each room on the ground has a view of the garden. The panoramic windows break down the relationship between interior and exterior, creating a cosy feeling and connection with the natural surroundings. Shaped like trees and stones, the interior furniture is placed asymmetrically and naturally. On the south of the living room, a well-designed bench extends to the walls, providing framed views of the landscape.

By shifting the placement of stairs, the two-story underground space acquires its spiritual sense through a wooden Inner Shrine. A hole is opened at the center of the living room so that the light would pass through, connecting the above-ground space with the underground space as a whole. Located below, the Inner Shrine turns part of the basement into enjoyable space, accommodating a cinema, a wine cellar, a bar and art collections. The shape of it is inspired by the tower, setting off a powerful cluster of feelings.

Through the efforts of design team, the villa forms a virtual coordinate axis with “harmony between humans and nature” on the horizontal axis and “a balance of the inner and the outer worlds” on the vertical one. For T.K. CHU Design, design is the art of possible. In Brief, the designer creates a 'possible space' based on the will of the client from countless possibilities, and each design is a balanced reunion of both visions.

T.K. Chu Design
Principal designer: T.K. Chu
Project manager: Jeffery Yuan and Xiaodong Zhu
Design team: Bryant Liu, Claire Chen, Egerie Liao, Kevin Cheng, Penny Luo, Chelsea Lu, Peter Yao, Chobit Jian, Peling Lin, Maru Jiang, Yanyi Li