Tree yard of House of the Zaojian with brick paving and a low planter

House of the Zaojian puts a rural stove room back at the heart of a Changshu courtyard

House of the Zaojian is the renovation of a typical brick-concrete rural house in a small village in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, China. The architect’s parents built it in 1994. Atelier Lu’s work centres on repairing the damaged stove room, or zaojian, and the courtyard around it.

Aerial view of House of the Zaojian and the surrounding village — A bird’s-eye view of the house and its surroundings. Photo: Xiao Xiao

In the Suzhou area, the traditional rural stove room is more than a kitchen. The family worships the stove god there, and also eats and talks together. Local dishes are all steamed on the traditional stove, the zaotai.

The house before renovation, with a drawing beside it — The original condition of the house. Photo: Atelier Lu

The stove room and yard before renovation — The original zaojian and yard. Photo: Atelier Lu

The stove at the centre

Local craftsmen were invited to restore the traditional ink paintings on the stove wall. At the same time, the stove room became the core of the whole yard, so that it ties directly into the daily life of a rural family.

Restored stove with auspicious ink paintings in House of the Zaojian — The zaotai with its ink paintings after renovation. Photo: Xiao Xiao

Stove room with timber roof beams and a window to the yard — The zaojian. Photo: Xiao Xiao

Stove room seen toward its doors — The zaojian. Photo: Xiao Xiao

Round timber lids on the white stove — The zaotai. Photo: Sun Haiting

Cooking on the traditional stove — Cooking on the zaotai. Photo: Yitiao

To achieve this at House of the Zaojian, half the roof of the storage room beside the stove room came off, leaving a small inner courtyard. The entrance now passes through this yard. As a result, the route grows longer and the zaojian sits at the centre of movement through the courtyards. Its four sides have different doors and windows, each opening to the yard in its own way.

View from the stove room through its doors to the yard — The yard seen from the zaojian. Photo: Xiao Xiao

The alley yard

A brick doorway now stands between the main house and the stove room. It lightly separates the alley from the main courtyard. It also shelters the door of the main house from rain and drains water from the main roof. On the alley side, the window of the stove room is split into parts for light, for sitting and for passing dishes out.

Narrow alley yard with brick paving and timber doors — The alley yard. Photo: Xiao Xiao

Stove room seen from the alley yard — The zaojian seen from the alley yard. Photo: Xiao Xiao

Family members in the alley yard — Daily life in the alley yard. Photo: Xiao Xiao

Alley yard opening onto the tree yard — The alley yard and tree yard. Photo: Sun Haiting

Brick doorway with a drain, and photos of its construction — The doorway, its drain and its construction. Photo: Atelier Lu

The well yard

Over the original well of House of the Zaojian, the architects added a pavilion with a mixed steel and timber structure and a terrazzo laundry basin. Now the family can wash clothes and vegetables more easily. The pavilion also divides the main courtyard lightly into an east and a west part. Steel columns carry a timber roof, while small glulam blocks threaded on stainless steel rods form a catenary vault.

Terrazzo laundry basin under the well pavilion — The laundry basin under the pavilion. Photo: Xiao Xiao

Tree yard seen from the well pavilion — The tree yard seen from the pavilion. Photo: Xiao Xiao

Catenary vault of glulam blocks above the laundry basin — The laundry basin. Photo: Xiao Xiao

The tree yard and well yard with the pavilion — The tree yard and well yard. Photo: Xiao Xiao

Tables and chairs in the courtyard beside the pavilion — The tree yard and well yard. Photo: Atelier Lu

Family members sitting in the well yard — Daily activities in the well yard. Photo: Atelier Lu

The tree yard

Across the pavilion, the tree yard centres on a forty-year-old elm and an osmanthus. Low planters now ring the two trees, and red and grey brick paving replaces the old cement floor. The paving at the drainage point was laid separately.

Tree yard and well yard seen from above — The tree yard and well yard. Photo: Xiao Xiao

Red brick paving and old foundation stones — Red brick and old foundation stone paving. Photo: Atelier Lu

In House of the Zaojian, the stove room in the annex has moved from the end of the plot to the centre of the courtyard. The edges between the alley yard, the house yard, the tree yard and the well yard stay loose. Together, the stove, the well and the trees make a place full of daily life. The renovation cost little and relied mainly on recycled and locally available materials, from grey bricks, tiles and timber to terrazzo, glulam and steel plate.

Drawings

Axonometric drawing of House of the Zaojian

Project Credits

Project: House of the Zaojian
Project type: Architecture renovation
Location: Changshu, Jiangsu Province, China
Design: 2012–2019
Completion: 2019
Land area: 271 m²
Gross built area: 18 m²
Design: Atelier Lu
Photography: Atelier Lu, Xiao Xiao, Sun Haiting, Yitiao