A breathing home

"To acquire an antiquity house is to acquire the spirit of the place," said designer Szuti Tsai, summing up the design philosophy of the home, which is all about eliminating control and preserving the room's original appearance. During the conversation, Szuti Tsai also mentioned interacting occasionally with the homeowner, exchanging ideas and establishing a solid foundation of trust, so that both parties could devote their enthusiasm to shaping the space, and during the interview, just by listening, one could feel the enthusiasm and joy of the entire story.

This type of old house with a balcony can occasionally be encountered in Taipei. The owners like this environment with light on three sides, and they want to use it to create an airy, breathing space that can accommodate two people in their home office without interfering with one another, as well as allow the hostess, a professional director, to entertain guests and hold screenings. During the remodeling, we also noticed the slightly skewed wall, but the owner simply laughed it off, accepted it, and lived with it. The imperfections also include the unleveled walls, the naturally occurring beams, and the broken brick walls, all of which are not covered by special decoration, but only painted over, allowing the textures and structures left behind by time to reveal the history of this renovated space, which is also an intriguing feature.

Home

Anyone who has studied the floor plans both before and after the redesign will be astounded by the transformation the designer has made to the arrangement. By withdrawing one wall of the hot fry area and flushing it with the adjacent restroom, the designer was able to create a dynamic space. The combination of the columns and the central island establishes this area as the focal point and visually grounds the rest of the space. The island in the center of the kitchen is in close proximity to the adjacent dining table, where the hostess, a director by trade, may entertain guests and hold screenings. The modest mirrored material flooring of the center island reflects the profusion of cabinets in the home and the assumption that each volume in the space will interact with the inhabitants in different ways. As storage remains a requirement, it is more economical to plan a storage room directly than to have cabinets strewn around the area, so that the space may be returned to its intended users.

透室

「買老房子就是連空間的靈魂一起買」設計師蔡思棣的這句話也概括了此屋的設計概念，一切都是以減少控制、尊重空間原本的樣貌去思考。談話間思棣也不時提起與屋主的互動，彼此融洽交流意見、有良好的信任基礎，使得雙方都能挹注熱情於空間的圍塑，訪談中只是頃聽，就能從整個故事中感受到熱忱與喜悅。

像這一類有一圈外陽台的老宅偶爾能在台北市發現，屋主夫妻非常喜歡這樣三面採光的環境，期望利用此優勢打造一個通透、會呼吸的空間，同時滿足兩人居家辦公而互不干擾，並且讓職業為導演的女主人，能招待賓客舉辦試映會。三十年的老屋想當然老舊管線的問題必須先解決，整頓的過程中還觀察到微傾的壁面，沒想到屋主見了只是大笑，便接受這樣的不完美，與之共存。不完美還包括沒有整平的壁面、自然呈現的梁柱、破損的磚牆，全都不特別裝飾掩蓋，只是運用油漆刷過，讓時間留下的紋理與結構訴說空間的歷史，也是這個經過翻新的空間引人玩味的特點。

但凡研究過設計前後的平面圖，就會讓人驚嘆設計者對於格局改造的手法，僅僅是退縮熱炒區的一面牆與一旁的衛浴齊平，就能創造出活絡空間的動線，喜愛看空間結構與梁柱的思棣笑著說自己其實帶著一點私心，刻意讓結構柱體露出來。柱體與中島做結合，讓這個區域成為核心，也在視覺上穩定其他區塊的輕透感。中島與相鄰的餐桌關係緊密，職業為導演的女主人能在此招待賓客與舉辦試映會。而以小面積鏡面材質落地的中島量體，是對於普遍家居中過多櫃體的反思，期待每個存在於空間中的量體都能與居者有多樣性的互動。而收納仍是必要需求，直接規劃一間儲藏室比起散佈於空間各處的櫃體更有效率，讓空間能真正回歸到使用者。

既有的格局不僅制式、缺乏流動、使空間陰暗，外廊道的單一出入口也導致陽台空間容易被忽視，因此將原本連接外廊的窗戶拓寬為門，讓每個空間都能與陽台緊密連結，也方便屋主常常與栽植的花花草草互動。具流動性的動線設計也運用於書房，兩個出入口創造出環狀動線，闔上門片與鐵門則是能專注於工作的獨立空間，其中一道通往客廳的鐵門，五彩繽紛的視覺被幽默的屋主命名為「電五彩」，成為簡約空間中強烈的個性。儘管空間裡運用最簡單的材質，比如水泥粉光、不修飾的水泥板、不上木皮的樺木板、普通的漆與磚，然而軟裝透露著不凡品味的端倪，有部分家具更是來自喜愛研究經典設計的屋主。

思棣進一步分享鐵門的製作，成品止步於泡藥水的防鏽處理階段，鐵門上藥水流下的痕跡是不確定的因子，是一個不可控的過程，對應城市生活中我們總想掌控好一切，反而失去了探索繽紛五彩的可能性。從這個擁有迷人老靈魂的空間中，不只是尊重建築本質，學習放下控制的執念，用心傾聽，事物便會順著需求長成該有的樣子。