A contemporary interpretation of a traditional garden villa, created for family, friends, and certain colleagues to gather for conversation and reflection while immersed in nature.

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We were asked to re-imagine the traditional Garden Villa, a place for conversation, reflection, and writing, for a resort in Suzhou. To begin we studied, in real time, the Master of the Nets Garden, which reflects the beauty of "Mountain and Water" gardens. This and other experiences in Suzhou, along with the study of Chinese Arts (music and scrolls) and Mythology, provided us with a basic knowledge and insight into the purpose and meaning of the Garden Villa and the fundamental planning and spatial relationships that 'choreograph' the life within.

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It is one house in two main parts connected by a central canyon-like space. One side is for semi-public gatherings of friends and colleagues and the other is the family's private family gatherings. Ascending the three-story house begins at the entry in a subterranean elliptical oasis, with spatial limits, and continues thru the second level and a more expanded space from inside to the edge of the forest and finally the roof garden with a special pavilion for quietude and contemplation of an expanded long view to the mountains.