Five-Storey House, Reimagined Through Three Staircases

1. Context and Eco-Social Impact
Located in suburban Beijing, Five-Storey House transforms a typical row house—defined by its rigid vertical repetition—into a responsive and emotionally resonant home. Rather than demolish, we preserved the structural frame, minimizing waste and embodied carbon. This adaptive reuse reimagines not just the architecture, but the way we live in and relate to space. By dismantling the central stair core and reorganizing circulation, the house breaks from isolation and segmentation. Previously enclosed floors now unfold into a vertical landscape of openness, reflection, and shared movement—supporting intergenerational interaction and sensory richness.

2. Innovation: Circulation as Spatial Catalyst
Three sculptural staircases replace the original single stairwell, each forming its own spatial identity. One folds into a monolithic base on the ground floor; another spirals upward through the core; the third cuts diagonally through bedrooms. These stairs reprogram vertical circulation into a spatial experience—what Pallasmaa might call “spatial instruments” that engage the full body, not just the eye. Here we found space for poetry, making the house not just a container for living but an engine of life.

3. Creativity and Functionality
Each design move balances expression with purpose. The ground level merges dining, garden, and stair into a sculptural centerpiece. The plan opens up visual corridors and creates gentle shifts in scale and light. The basement is transformed from a void into a gallery-like sequence. A sloped stair, folded geometry, and filtered light compose a tactile, emotional environment. One end offers a retreat; the other curves into a meditative alcove. These spaces are left open in function—studio, library, listening room—encouraging personal interpretation and daily reinvention.
Here, movement, texture, and weight shape the way residents relate to space—inviting slower rhythms and closer attention.

Conclusion: A Framework for Future Life
Like the first gestures on a blank canvas, the spatial moves in Five-Storey House hint at infinite possibilities. Rather than dictate how life should unfold, the architecture creates conditions for exploration—of movement, of connection, of care. By reimagining what a common row house can be, this project proposes a model for sustainable, flexible, and emotionally resonant domestic architecture.