Ai Weiwei Studio House

Designed for an artist, this studio building has a floor area of 500m2. It consists of a reinforced skeleton-frame structure left exposed internally with reddish brick infill panels. An outer skin of grey facing bricks is drawn over the structure and articulated with a few carefully proportioned window openings. The principal element of the scheme is the two storey-high studio space set at right angels to the living tract. The windowless studio receives daylight solely from above via two skylight strips. The number of materials used was reduced to a minimum. According to the architect and owner of the house, the studio was designed and executed in a period of tree months, with a construction time only 60 days.