Architecture

90-year-old home renovation crowned World Interior of the Year

90-year-old home renovation crowned World Interior of the Year
JCA Living Lab has been named the winner of the 2019 World Interior of the Year
JCA Living Lab has been named the winner of the 2019 World Interior of the Year
View 3 Images
JCA Living Lab's interior features modern additions, like this light fixture, alongside the aging wood
1/3
JCA Living Lab's interior features modern additions, like this light fixture, alongside the aging wood
JCA Living Lab has been named the winner of the 2019 World Interior of the Year
2/3
JCA Living Lab has been named the winner of the 2019 World Interior of the Year
The interior of JCA Living Lab has been extended to offer additional living space
3/3
The interior of JCA Living Lab has been extended to offer additional living space
View gallery - 3 images

The 2019 Inside World Festival of Interiors recently took place in Amsterdam alongside the World Architecture Festival. During the annual event, the JCA Living Lab, a remarkable renovated home in Taipei, Taiwan, was named the World Interior of the Year.

The project, by J.C. Architecture, transforms a building that was originally constructed over 90 years ago, during a period that Taiwan was under Japanese rule, into a modern house suitable for a family.

The renovation was handled very tastefully. Aging woodwork exists alongside modern additions like a circular light fixture and a skylight designed to create a "pathway of light" throughout the house. Additionally, interior living space was increased by extending the home, creating a new living room and kitchen, as well as a flexible room for group gatherings.

The interior of JCA Living Lab has been extended to offer additional living space
The interior of JCA Living Lab has been extended to offer additional living space

"The house is unusually in tune with the differing and sometimes contradictory needs of a young family," says WAF's judges. "Every space can be negotiated and adapted, encouraging the house to be an incubator for positive difference in the family unit.

"Local craftspeople were drafted in when needed and recycled elements were mixed freely with new. Ladders to the roof level encourage ongoing hide and seek. Internal space leaks into a garden, itself an outdoor room, whilst light penetrates in unexpected ways and occasional views of the sky offset the otherwise congested urban setting."

Source: Inside World Festival of Interiors

View gallery - 3 images
6 comments
6 comments
Brian M
World Interior of the Year ?
To be honest it looks as though it needs a refurbish as soon as possible!
Don't think bare breeze block walls have ever been considered the height of good design style!
Captain Danger
"Every space can be negotiated and adapted, encouraging the house to be an incubator for positive difference in the family unit."
Translated
it is mostly open space with a couple of partitions thrown up somewhat randomly.
"Local craftspeople were drafted in when needed and recycled elements were mixed freely with new"

Translated
The local land fill was scored by homeless people for material.

"Internal space leaks into a garden, itself an outdoor room, whilst light penetrates in unexpected ways and occasional views of the sky offset the otherwise congested urban setting"
Translated
"Don't mind the lack of a ceiling, the holes in the roof allow sunlight in"

Tim
Nice one Captain!
andrew
some more photos would have been nice
ljaques
Well, they look to be 20% done. Where's the Beef? Why didn't they powerwash that outer block wall and other wall? Looks like black mold. I love these architectural contests. I think half of them have one entrant. Perhaps that's why this one won.
Worzel
From experience in my 200 year old barn, ceilings like that will become a haven for bugs and spiders, and given the difficulty of access for cleaning, they will multiply, exponentially! in addition, high ceilings usually mean cold at floor level, unless there is underfloor heating, but even then, heating that huge volume will be expensive. Architects! I maintain that they should be forced to live in their ridiculous creations for at least one full year, then maybe they would get their brain aligned to reality.