Jackie XU Private Residence | A Love Letter to My Dogs

The owner of Jackie XU Private Residence is my long-time friend, accompanied by her two lovely dogs - a 4-year-old Schnauzer and a 2-year-old Italian Greyhound. Her dogs have evolved into cherished family members, making the emotional connection between her and her dogs the focal point of our design.

Jackie XU Private Residence, as the vessel of this emotional bond, is akin to a love letter exchanged between them, serving as a space where they rely on and support each other. During the design process, we incorporated research on the differences in canine and human vision regarding space and color perception. We discovered that the human visual system typically comprises three types of cone cells, sensitive to the "red, blue, and green" spectrum of colors, while canines possess only "blue and green" cone cells due to variations in the wavelengths of light they perceive. Consequently, dogs perceive a more limited spectrum of colors, akin to the response of humans with red-green color blindness.

Using the "yellow and blue" color spectrum as our starting point, we carefully selected architectural materials that both humans and dogs can perceive and identify with, such as teakwood, brass, bronze, grey oak, warm grey sisal, Prussian blue mosaic, grey terrazzo, and dark brown matte aluminum panels. This deliberate choice of materials ensures that the overall color scheme is perceived similarly by the human and canine retina, eliciting analogous visual neural responses. This approach effectively creates the effect of inhabiting "the same space," facilitating an emotional connection between them.

As of 2023, China boasts 220 million pets and a solo-living population of 150 million. With the growing trend of solitary living and increasing societal pressures, there's a rising demand for companionship and emotional support, fueling the popularity of pets. In Shanghai, a city lacking in canine-related facilities, a groundbreaking residential project emerges. It offers a unique approach to owner-pet interaction, representing the first indoor living initiative designed with a focus on visual and emotional connections.