Integration Of Tranquil Retreat With Inheritance Of Culture
淨心靜舍與保育傳承的文化摻和
A bath or hot spring guesthouse is a place to relax the body and mind, cleanse the soul, and for the generally hurried Hong Kong people, it is a place of quietness to relieve heavy stress. However, with busy work schedules, it is often difficult to find time to visit such places. When redesigning the layout of a space, is it possible to blend a comfortable design with a tranquil feeling reminiscent of travel at home?
Within the community of Ap Lei Chau, there are many old tenement buildings with a history of over fifty years. The ancient mosaic floors, deep red staircase handrails, and every detail of these old buildings exude the atmosphere of old Hong Kong. The previous generation also commonly practiced traditional ancestral worship at home, such as offerings to the earth god on the first and fifteenth of each month or during festivals. In this design project, can we blend and inherit this cultural tradition by incorporating a small space for worship, adding a thoughtful touch to preserve tradition without creating conflict, and gently integrating it with the serene design of the retreat?
風呂或溫泉民宿是放鬆身心，洗淨心靈的地方，對於生活普遍急促的香港人而言更是舒解沉重壓力的靜心之所，然而平常工作忙碌，一般分身不暇較難抽空前往，在重新規劃空間佈局時，是否可在家中糅合具旅感靜謐的舒適設計？
在鴨脷洲社區內，有不少歷史五十年以上的舊唐樓，古香的馬賽克地板、深紅色的樓梯扶手等，每樣舊建築細節也充滿老香港的氛圍，而上一輩在家中普遍亦有其傳統拜祠文化，如初一十五或節日的地主供奉等，在本案的設計中，是否又可摻和傳承文化，加入可供拜祠的小空間位置，為保育傳統出一份巧思，但同時又不顯衝突，與靜舍的舒感設計柔和融合？
In the limited space of Hong Kong, where every inch is precious, a small residential unit of three to four hundred square feet is typically a two-bedrooms unit. Due to being located in an old tenement building, this project's space is more practical and lacks hallway space, originally already having three rooms. However, there is a severe lack of clothing storage, and the bathroom is very small. With the homeowners' desire for a separate cloakroom and laundry room, can we live beyond the limit and transform this compact space of around four hundred square feet into a four-bedrooms unit with separate laundry room, while maintaining an open and spacious residential space?
This project "Furo Hoteru” combines the details of a hot spring retreat for cleansing the soul with the preservation of tenement buildings and the cultural tradition of ancestral worship, as well as creating a bright and open space with four bedrooms and a separate laundry room, to establish a place of tranquility that exudes a sense of leisure and traditional significance.
在香港寸金尺土的地方，三至四百平方呎的偏小住宅一般是兩房單位，而本案因是處於舊唐樓的緣故，空間較為實用及沒有走廊位，所以本來已是三房。但原則衣物收納嚴重不足，而且浴室十分狹小，在本案户主希望擁有獨立衣帽及洗衣間的期望下，是否又可活超於限，把四百多呎的蝸居轉化為具四房及二分離衛浴，同時保持開敞通透的住宅空間？
本案以「風呂靜舍」洗淨身心靈的空間細節，糅合唐樓保育及供奉拜祠的傳承文化，及開敞明亮的四房及獨立洗衣房空間，打造出這具優閑旅感及傳統意蘊的靜心之所。
The homeowners are a couple with a newborn baby, and the mother occasionally stays in the guest room. The couple enjoys traveling and longs for the serene atmosphere of hot spring guesthouses, wishing to incorporate a sense of relaxation and stress relief at home. The mother also requests a place at home where she can occasionally worship the earth god. Upon ascending the stairs of the old tenement building and opening the door, the entire space is filled with the ambiance of a bath retreat: the living room features a maple storage cabinet, with an void space complemented by a deep grey oak table top and a medium grey short sofa; the ceiling originally had a large beam pressing down on the dining table, but during the replanning, a false ceiling was cleverly used to create different zones of height, hiding the oppressive feeling of the beam. Additionally, a washi paper pendant light is used above the dining table, enhancing the retreat design features.
本案戶主是一對夫婦，有一剛出生的可愛小嬰孩，媽媽亦偶爾會住在客房。夫婦喜愛旅居，響往遊溫泉民宿時的靜謐氛圍，並希望在家融入放鬆舒壓的感覺，而媽媽則要求在家中可放置偶爾拜祠地主的位置。
經過老舊唐樓的樓梯走道，打開大門便見全屋空間也充滿著風呂旅感氛圍：客廳楓木收納高櫃，其中空位配上深灰橡木的枱面及中灰色的短背梳化；天花原本是有大樑壓在飯枱之上，在重新規劃時巧妙利用假天花整合，將頂部化為不同高低區域，隱藏了大樑壓頂的壓迫感，在飯枱正上方亦用了和紙吊燈，更顯風呂特色。
Underneath the low cabinet directly facing the door, there is a space designated for the earth god's worship, with a deep red plaque embedded in the maple cabinet and illuminated by a reddish light, creating a contrasting effect that further highlights the tenement building's characteristics.
在正對大門的矮櫃下方，有一格空位是供地主拜祠，深紅色的牌匾內置於楓木櫃體裏及配上泛紅燈光，有反襯的作用更顯唐樓特色。
Open Plan Tiny Apartment With Four Rooms & Independent Laundry Room
In the typical small units of Hong Kong, the number of rooms is generally insufficient, especially space for cloaks or laundry rooms, and inadequate windows often result in dim spaces. However, this project effectively utilizes the advantage of no hallway in tenement buildings and uses materials that allow for sunlight transmission to create an open and bright living space: for living room, a versatile full-height TV cabinet is used to divide the space, with a maple frame cabinet for hanging the TV in the front, a glass display cabinet made on the side to serve as a focal point in the entrance area, and a wardrobe behind it for the master bedroom section.
開敞式蝸居兼容四房及二分離衛浴
香港普遍的標準小單位，一般房間數目已不足夠，更遑論要衣帽或洗衣間，而且通常窗户不足導致空間較為昏暗，然而本案卻有效利用唐樓沒走廊，面積較實用的優勢，及在物料上以多用玻璃透光的手法，打做開敞明亮的蝸居空間：客廳方面，用多元全高電視櫃作空間區間，前面是楓木框線櫃給掛電視，側身造了玻璃飾櫃成進門玄關位的焦點，背面是衣櫃給主人房區間出的新衣帽間。
For kitchen, a semi-open design is used, with a black-framed clear tempered glass and sliding door serving as a partition. When cooking, the glass door can be closed to prevent oil fumes from entering. A low cabinet connects the living room to the kitchen, with a dark grey quartz countertop, stainless steel backsplash, and dark grey floor tiles, creating a sharp contrast with the light wood-patterned floor tiles in the living room.
廚房方面，以半開放式的手法，利用黑框強化清玻璃及趟門作分隔，煮食時可合上玻璃趟門避免油煙滲入，矮櫃由客廳連貫至廚房，並以深灰石英石作枱面，配上不銹鋼背板及深灰的地磚，與客廳的淺木紋長地磚形成鮮明的對比。
For guest room, a black-framed fixed glass panel is created on the brick wall connecting to the living room to increase natural light, complemented by a grey roller blind that can be closed for privacy when needed. The black frames also match the matte black light switches throughout the house. The top of the single bed originally had a large beam pressing down, which is now covered with a slanted false ceiling to reduce the oppressive feeling, complemented by wall lights.
客房方面，在與廳連接的磚牆上造了黑框固定玻璃增加客廳的日光度，並配上灰色捲簾，有需要時可合上增加私隱，黑框亦與全屋的啞黑色電掣面呼應相襯，單人床的頂部本身有大橫樑壓頂，現以斜假天花包覆，減低壓迫感，並以壁燈互相襯托。
For master bedroom, connected to the newly partitioned cloakroom, there is a Japanese-style glass folding door that can be closed when changing clothes, a maple back panel against the bed, filling the recess created by the pillar, and two hanging boards for decorations, with wall lights and creating a decent scenery.
主人房方面，與新區隔的衣帽間相連，並設有和式玻璃趟門，在更衣時可合上，主人床背有楓木背板填平立柱造成的凹位，並加入了两塊吊掛板可放飾物，亦在柱位添罝了壁燈 ，形成一幅動人的景致。
For study room, a long desk and two low cabinets on either side serve as support, with overhead hanging boards for books and small potted plants.
書房方面，以長書枱及两邊側矮櫃作支撐，上方有頂吊掛板可放書籍及小盆栽。
For bathroom, the original layout was quite cramped and inconvenient to use. Therefore, in this project, the old kitchen space was converted into a laundry room, the washbasin and mirror cabinet were moved out to the laundry room. Although it does not achieve the ideal separation of wet and dry areas, but the bathroom is already much more spacious than before, with dark grey wall tiles enhancing the serene and healing atmosphere of the Japanese-style bath, complemented by frosted glass folding doors to prevent the bathroom space from feeling dark.
浴室方面，舊佈局的浴室相當狹小，使用上非常不便，於是本案將舊廚房位罝改作洗衣間，並把洗手盤及鏡櫃移出至洗衣間，雖仍不達至最理想的乾濕分離，但二分離的浴室已比以往寛敞甚多，配以深灰的牆身磚，更顯和式風呂的靜謐療癒感，並配以磨砂玻璃趟摺門，使浴室空間不覺昏暗。
This project "Furo Hoteru” encompasses the details of a hot spring guesthouse space for cleansing the soul, blending the preservation of tenement buildings and the cultural tradition of ancestral worship, while providing an open plan with four bedrooms and independent laundry room, to create a place of solace and healing for the heavily stressed people of Hong Kong.
本案「風呂靜舍」藴含洗淨身心靈的風呂民宿空間細節，並糅合唐樓保育及供奉拜祠的傳承文化，開敞兼容四房及二分離衛浴，為工作壓力沉重的香港人打造出舒解療癒的心安之所。
