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Golden

Arch Design Award 

Winner

in

Interior Design Category

'26

In Praise of Shadows

Designed by

Tai Kuan Huang/Kuan Tai Design Studio

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In Praise of Shadows

Residential Architecture

New Taipei City, Taiwan

Tai Kuan Huang/Kuan Tai Design Studio

Photo Credits:

WEI CHUAN JUNG, 2025

Copyrights:

Tai Kuan Huang/Kuan Tai Design Studio/2025

“Beauty lies not in the object itself, but in the shadows and gradations of light and dark formed between objects.” —Japanese literary figure Tanizaki Jun'ichirō

This domestic space is conceived as a private museum, responding to the homeowner's need to display collected artworks through the exhibition of spatial beauty via purity, volumetric mass, and stratified layers.

A minimalist large cylindrical volume serves as the spatial fulcrum and core, paired with substantial cubic masses, employing varied aperture configurations to sculpt hierarchical relationships between illumination and shadow, allowing shadows to migrate with temporal progression and reflect the flowing beauty of light.

The large cylindrical volume employs dyed solid wood veneer as its material treatment, preserving the natural, complemented by breathable, hygroscopic lime plaster that allows the space to breathe naturally and composedly.

Wall surfaces sculpted within the space resemble large-scale sculptural works, their clean, flowing lines imbuing the space with tension. Apertures between these walls and the cylindrical volume permit light and shadow passage, projecting distinctly layered shadows. Through the framed vistas formed by these wall surfaces, focusing visual attention within these frames like paintings.

The overall spatial palette employs black, white, and gray as primary tonalities, boldly utilizing extensive black surfaces to accentuate spatial contrast.

The living room's television wall employs a large volumetric design creating a double-sided cabinet—one side presenting a clean television wall, the other providing storage cabinetry. Through meticulously calculated proportions coordinated with the audiovisual cabinet below and interior lighting, this creates a museum-like exhibition atmosphere.

The space employs “Lotos” coating developed by Taiwan National Cheng Kung University. Lotos utilizes locally-sourced recycled reservoir sediment and construction surplus soil.

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