Tengchong Courtyard / Jí Architects

Located on a mountainside with sunrise vistas, the owner picked the perfect idyllic location to build a courtyard homestay for his family and friends. The project is situated in a village in Tengchong, Yunnan province, and overlooks the famous ancient town of Heshun across a paddy field. The site has the advantage of a wide outlook and quiet environment and enjoys a pleasant climate year-round. At the outset, we visited nearby villages with the owner, studied the layout of traditional-style dwellings and local construction materials, looking for construction teams, and discussed feasible construction techniques. Even with a lot of preparatory work, we still faced many difficulties at the later stage. After the conceptual design was completed, the site was completely overturned due to force majeure, and the structural system had to be replaced after the construction drawings had been issued and regulations on the ancient town’s style and features became more stringent. We and the owner made frequent trips between Beijing and Tengchong, treating any difficulties like leveling up to fight monsters in a computer game. But we persevered and made it in the end. The owner named the project Yard 3721, which translates to mean that the house would be built no matter what.