Tsai Residence | Tai & Architectural Design

Tsai Residence is our first interior project in Taiwan and the context of this project should be addressed.

Nowadays, in many city such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Taipei even London, the "young people" cannot afford to buy a property to settle down as a "home" because of the high price of the house.
The is the phenomenal young people have to face, and we believe in this situation, the architects have to take the responsibility to control the budget and also keep the quality of the space.
We tried to explore the possibility to design a rental property as a good place to live in for young people.

The apartment is being rented by a couple working in the city centre, who asked Tai & Architectural Design to create an interior that can be reverted once their lease is up.

This property can be only rented for five years from the government and the user needs to return it in the same condition.

We kept this apartment as minimal as possible so it can be easily reverted to its original state.

All the surfaces are painted white to keep the space bright and clean, including the ductwork and electric cables exposed across the ceiling.

And we chose the white colour to blur the profile of the space and make the interior as minimal as possible to celebrate the purity of the space.

The front door opens into the living and dining room, which includes a large projector screen on the wall facing the grey sofa.

A door in the large window at the end of the space leads onto a small balcony surrounded by glass balustrades, so the view across the city remains unobstructed from the living area.

White cupboards run under the screen and match the simple dining table, situated beside the separate kitchen.

The corridor from the main space leads to the private rooms, with the master bedroom and en-suite bathroom located at the end.

The study and storage space are situated on one side of the corridor, while another bedroom and bathroom are positioned on the other.

Simple freestanding shelving units sit against the walls in the dining area and study, slotting under the ceiling beams.

We kept all the flexibility of the interior and made the storage movable so it can be reused when the contract expired.

White pendant lights in various shapes hang above the dining table, study desk and bedside tables.

Pastel tones used on tables, bedding and cushions provide hints of colours, and wooden dining chairs bring a touch of warmth to the otherwise stark interior.