Sundial Reimagined: Box of Light House by Cun Design.

China-based practice Cun Design has given us a taste of atmospheric-wow with their latest residential project, Box of Light. Located in China’s capital, Beijing, and stretching upwards of five storeys while encompassing 1,000 square metres, Box of Light celebrates the romance of light via architectural and artistic curation of light and shadows.

This home spawned from the architect’s response to the lack of identity and character in the exponential rise in mass development of housing. Situated within the development estate Heguangchenyue, the family villa is divided into two components: the top three levels are dedicated to family living while the lower two levels cater to the client’s solitude and interests. The footprint of the luxury villa is characterised by an L-shaped development that wraps itself around a courtyard to allow for visitors to be enveloped by the garden and natural light.

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The lower two levels, however, are sunken further to allow for sculpted volumes above to add a further illusion of depth. Looking closely from the entrance to the corridor, the architects were intent on framing moments through each entry, an echo of the philosophy of Chinese scroll paintings (enter, sit and wander within the frame set up by the artist). From the top level which is concealed to offer privacy for the bedrooms, the cutouts to peek at levels below are rather small, while gradually increasing in size as the levels descend. These moments are also used to create a sense of intimacy, notably in the tea room with the goldfish tank peeking through slim rectangular and circular cutouts.

Up-front, Box of Light appears sterile, if not objectively plain, due to its intensity in opting for a white canvas, save for the multiple selections of black-toned sculptures and brightly coloured furniture. However, it is when the lights are on that we are within a space that would remind one of Nendo’s Light and Dark, if not James Turrell’s exhibition space. Against the harsh white walls, Cun Design opted for warm-toned lights to illuminate faintly against the walls for a rosy emulation of a sunset. From the lower level above, electric blue lights up within the punctured volumes and spaces for ablutions, emitting a Notre Dame du Haut-esque atmosphere.

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While the family living area is rather contemporary, the owner’s individual space sets itself apart with its futuristic interior. Material palettes of stainless steel, filleted rectangular cutouts and stone-shaped partitions are embedded within. Additionally, a transition of warm-toned to cool-toned lighting distinguishes the ambience between the characters of the two spaces.

Very much a witness of the burst and gradual fade of a sundial, Box of Light is an interesting homage to the concepts of lights. As the project does explore the poetics from Junichiro Tanizaki’s lauded ‘In Praise of Shadows’, Cun Design implores us to appreciate all forms of light, be it natural or artificial. And it will be interesting too, to see how the clients will bathe in this dreamy interpretation, or even further develop the texture of light and shadows as they continue to grow within the home.

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[Images courtesy of Cun Design.]