DESIGN CONCEPT
Husband and wife team Mr. Pan Shiyi and Ms. Zhang Xin are the co-founders of private real estate developer SOHO China.
Commune by the Great Wall is one of their most renowned projects, exhibited at the 2002 la Biennale di Venezia, and winning Zhang a special prize for her “bold personal initiative”
The Commune is a private collection of contemporary architecture designed by 12 Asian architects, set in a shared landscape where modernism and tradition blend together.
The Split House consists of two symmetrical houses joined by a glass bridge. The house is split right down the middle so as to bring the scenery, the space, and therefore the Shan Shui (mountain and water) into the building. And a creek literally runs through the glass-floored entrance room. A courtyard, or outdoor living area, is enclosed by the mountains on one side and the house, with its two split halves, on the other. The line between the natural landscape and man-made architecture is thus blurred.
The Split house was designed to be convertible. The angle between the two halves can be adjusted to fit the house into any type of hill site. According to the geographical condition of a particular locale, the split house can be transformed into a single house, a parallel house, a right angle house, a bar house, or back-to-back house. In other words, this particular split is only one of many states of this flexible architecture.
The Split house is ecological: Its load bearing walls are made of ram earth with a partial wood frame. Ram earth construction is a time-honored building method in China. With minimum environmental impact, it builds a well-insulated wall that makes the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Meanwhile, the incorporation of tradition in this sort of project suggests an effort to create a contemporary Chinese house by building upon images of the past, but not by simply mimicking them.
FEATURES
The Split House has the best privacy among the 12 houses. Situated in front of the hills, the house has four bedrooms, two of which have built-in bathrooms. Each bedroom has a separate balcony. The living room is bright and interestingly arranged. A glass bathroom is wedged between the living room and the dining room. Perching on a commanding height overlooking the other 11 houses, the Split House cleverly takes advantage of the hillslope to form a half-natural and half-artificial yard. The house is enclosed by rammed earth walls that are common in Western China. A brook flows through under the hall’s glass floor, giving a touch of wilderness to the house.
Suitable activities: Small meetings, private gatherings.
LOCATION
Located in the Shuiguan Mountains amidst 8 square kilometres of private land. Commune by the Great Wall is 1 hour’s drive away from Beijing Capital International Airport, 20 kilometres away from the main train station (Qing Long Qiao station) and 50 minutes’ drive from Beijing city centre, the property enjoys an easy access via the Badaling Expressway. 15 minutes’ drive from Badaling private airport, available for helicopters (20 minutes’ transfer from Beijing Capital International Airport) and small aircrafts on the 800 metres long runway.
RATES
Walnut Valley Presidential Villas – contact Commune for availability and pricing
Commune by the Great Wall is also open to the public. if villas are not occupied by guests, visitors are allowed inside & outside, otherwise just the exteriors are open for a fee of RMB 120 per person.
Stone Valley
Standard Rooms from RMB 2500 per night
Deluxe Rooms from RMB 3300 per night
