Emily’s Home

In New York, Emily's home has finally been completed after several years of construction.

The house follows a garden-style layout. Several building volumes are arranged and connected naturally, preserving as much of the existing plants and trees as possible. Together they create a series of courtyards with different themes. Because they face different directions, each courtyard offers a different view.

The size of the windows shapes how the light enters the house. As a result, every room has its own balance of light and shadow. The roof is designed with folded surfaces rather than traditional symmetry, which also helps snow slide off easily in winter. Next to a century-old tree, a flat section of the roof was intentionally left open, creating a place to look up at the moon and stars on clear nights.

Concrete forms the walls and also extends into the landscape, gently blocking wind and views where needed. The studio is painted white, while the bedrooms are finished with light-colored wood. As the seasons pass, these materials will slowly age with time.

Emily once asked me, “When creating this home, what do you think matters most?”

I replied, “The most important thing is to approach the land with kindness and respect the natural order of everything here. From there, we shape the space around the human senses, allowing it to hold different emotions.”

Now the house sits quietly within the landscape. When sunlight moves across the walls and the shadows of trees sway in the courtyard, everything here seems to breathe and grow. I think this is what a home should be — not just a shelter from wind and rain, but a place where you can share time with the sun and moon, and grow old with the passing years.

— Bing Ju