Articles by Andreas Luco

1. Two Temperaments and Two Scales of the Site — The site is an independent old farm located outside a village at the foot of Cangshan Mountain. It is a long, narrow plot oriented east–west, with relatively shallow depth from north to south. To the north lies Shuangyuan Stream, one of the eighteen streams descending from Cangshan. The site is embraced by dense woodland, accompanied by the constant sound of flowing water, creating a secluded and tranquil mountain-forest atmosphere. To the south, the land opens dramatically toward vast farmland, where the nineteen peaks of Cangshan undulate across the horizon in full view, evoking an expansive pastoral scene reminiscent of the poetic line, “Plucking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, I leisurely glimpse the southern mountains.” The site thus possesses two distinct temperaments: mountain forest and pastoral landscape.

The remodeling and expansion of this typical ground floor PH unit with its own terrace responds to the challenge of adapting the home to two possible configurations: a first version as a single-family dwelling and a possible future division into two independent units, one on the ground floor and another developed on the first and second floors.

MVRDV’s pixelated façade design brings variety and identity to prefabricated modular towers in Singapore. At Irwell Bank Road in Singapore, two 36-story residential towers have been completed, with a lively, pixelated façade design contributed by MVRDV. Taking as a base the highly efficient, prefabricated, modular building design by Singapore-based ADDP Architects, MVRDV’s variegated façade adds liveliness to the buildings’ external appearance and highlights the green communal spaces on the buildings’ 24th floor and roof. The design is the latest in MVRDV’s oeuvre to show that efficiency and cost-effectiveness can happily coexist with character and individuality.

Near Aroeira, where the Atlantic breeze tempers the pine forest and low density preserves quietness, this dwelling arises from the clients’ desire for a private, simple, and refined atmosphere — a discreet house that does not impose itself on the act of inhabiting, but instead nurtures it. A retreat from the bustle of city life they once knew, capable of embracing a calmer, slower rhythm. Rooted in an idea shared by the couple, the project takes form as a contemporary reinterpretation of the Mediterranean and Islamic courtyard house: an introverted ensemble of spaces that open inward, articulated through patios that regulate light, air, and temperature, weaving an intrinsic dialogue between interior and exterior — not through rigid boundaries, but through subtle thresholds.

“Xuebei Home”: The Native Homeland in an Urban Village，This project involves the reconstruction of a 44-square-meter collapsed ancestral home in the old city of Qiaodong, Huizhou.