Location: Beijing, China.

Architect: ORIGIN ARCHITECT.

Architect Li Ji’s Urban Home of Nature is located in a 7-storey residential building in Beijing that has a standard concrete shear wall structure, a common arrangement of rooms, and a slightly higher floor height. To create an adventure in the concrete jungle, the architect removed all partition walls and revealed the skeleton of the urban concrete jungle. Large sliding doors break through the boundary wall that separates the living room and main bedroom with the courtyard, forming an indoor courtyard that flows freely as nature’s breath passes through the jungle of concrete walls. Tree trunks with burls set up horizontally in the air form a floating space high, connected by an overhang trestle bridge made of timber and I-beams that fly over the concrete wall. The boundary between inside and outside, living and nature is dispelled, and activities in the living room and bedroom become activities in the indoor courtyard, whereas the outdoor courtyard becomes the living room’s extension.

The fact that the owner’s son and his pals remained the night in the tree home is one of the most crucial aspects of this design. As vines grow on rocks, the tree home has established itself in the concrete jungle, and the furnishings and domestic things are kept simple and moderate. The flooring is distinctive and reflects the worth and life of each tree. A closer connection to nature may be had by walking barefoot on wood, and reclining on a cushion next to firewood is a more active way to stay awake than lounging on a sofa.

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