Architectural Cases

TROP: terrains + open space has meticulously designed Yanlord Arcadia, a residential landscape in Shanghai, centered around the innovative concept of a 'Garden-within-a-Garden.' This visionary project transforms a sprawling central courtyard into a succession of interconnected outdoor environments. These spaces seamlessly integrate water features, varied vegetation, architectural elements, and circulatory paths to craft a deeply layered and engaging landscape experience. The development is organized into four unique garden realms, striking a harmonious balance between communal and private areas while ensuring a continuous and fluid relationship between the residential buildings and their verdant surroundings.

The overall planning of Yanlord Arcadia adopts a modern and refined landscape aesthetic, dividing the expansive central courtyard into four individual gardens. These gardens are designed to function both independently and as integral components of a larger, cohesive scheme. A fire access route is cleverly concealed around the periphery, ensuring safety requirements are met without compromising the open and natural feel of the landscape. Throughout the design, varying densities of planting, dynamic water features, and carefully structured spatial enclosures guide movement, creating a smooth and progressive transition from vibrant public zones to more serene, secluded garden retreats.

The Intricate Design of Yanlord Arcadia's Four Distinct Gardens

The Yanlord Arcadia project, conceived by TROP: terrains + open space, showcases a remarkable integration of four interconnected gardens, each possessing a unique character and purpose, yet contributing to a cohesive living environment. This thoughtful arrangement allows residents to experience a diverse array of outdoor settings, promoting both social interaction and tranquil solitude. The design carefully balances aesthetic appeal with practical functionality, creating a landscape that evolves with daily life while enriching the residential experience.

The first courtyard, 'Veiled in Glimmers,' features an open pavilion enveloped by translucent frosted glass, with reflective pools accentuating circulation paths. Layered planting and open edges foster visual links to adjacent residences, balancing enclosure with expansive views. 'Lanterns in Sequence,' the central garden, draws inspiration from traditional lantern geometry with an elevated pavilion defining four seating alcoves, each offering distinct perspectives of the surrounding landscape, water, and sky. The third garden, 'Half Water, Half Forest,' merges recreational facilities with lush greenery, including timber decks extending over water, a 40-meter lap pool, children's pool, and various amenities like a waterside bar and barbecue area, discreetly integrated within four separate volumes. Finally, 'Entering Tranquility' is dedicated to quiet contemplation, featuring interconnected water features, terraces, and planted edges that lead to more private zones, reinforced by a strategically placed entrance and sunken seating near a reading area, blending architecture, water, and vegetation.

Seamless Integration: Balancing Community and Privacy Through Layered Design

Beyond the central courtyard, the comprehensive landscape strategy extends across the entire development, meticulously integrating accessibility and commercial functions. This overarching approach ensures that every aspect of Yanlord Arcadia contributes to a holistic and aesthetically pleasing environment. Fire access routes are ingeniously incorporated within planted areas, utilizing materials and vegetation consistent with the main gardens, maintaining both safety and visual harmony. The commercial street is envisioned as an urban green corridor, employing layered planting and subtle changes in elevation to clearly demarcate retail spaces from residential entrances.

On the upper levels, innovative folded landscape surfaces allow planting to emerge through paved areas, forming inviting seating terraces and elevated viewpoints that offer panoramic vistas of the bustling public spaces below. This intricate design weaves together landscape elements, circulation paths, and communal facilities into a cohesive residential environment. Through its series of four interconnected gardens, meticulously designed water features, and sophisticated layering of plants, Yanlord Arcadia, a creation of TROP: terrains + open space, establishes a versatile landscape framework. This framework not only accommodates the daily activities of its residents but also fosters an outdoor environment that seamlessly evolves with the needs and aspirations of the community.

In the scenic landscape of Las Rozas, Madrid, Fran Silvestre Arquitectos has unveiled a residential marvel where five distinct cylindrical elements intertwine, dictating both the aesthetic and functional layout of the dwelling. Situated on a subtly inclined plot with expansive views of the Sierra de Guadarrama, this 370-square-meter creation employs a precise geometric strategy to delineate various living areas while maintaining a coherent architectural vision. Each cylindrical section is dedicated to a specific function, forging a harmonious composition where pathways, structural support, and habitable spaces all emanate from the same fundamental geometric framework.

Far from being isolated forms, these circular structures are elegantly connected by a series of rectilinear intersections, facilitating smooth transitions between rooms. This thoughtful arrangement also encloses a compact central courtyard, which serves as the heart of the project. It effectively draws natural light deep into the interior of the house, simultaneously establishing visual links between the various volumes and the breathtaking natural environment that encompasses the property.

The natural contours of the building site significantly influence the structure's overall appearance. Angled cuts at the base of each cylindrical form allow them to gracefully conform to the varying terrain, requiring minimal alteration to the landscape. Similarly, the angled rooflines echo the traditional pitched roofs found in the region's residential architecture. These deliberate geometric interventions thoughtfully integrate skylights and strategically placed openings, designed to capture and modulate natural light throughout the day. Expansive glazed panels, meticulously installed by the Valencia-based team, dissolve the boundaries between the interior and the lush gardens, inviting terraces, and distant mountain vistas. This allows each section of the house to forge its own intimate connection with the surrounding environment. Together with the central courtyard, these external spaces craft a diverse array of sheltered and open zones, expertly balancing the need for privacy with the desire for expansive views across the property.

The architectural language of the project, while rigorously geometric, is deeply enriched by artistic inspirations. The designers cite Spanish sculptor Andreu Alfaro’s iconic ‘Homage to Brâncuși’ as a pivotal early influence. This artistic reference is evident in the translation of the sculpture’s repetitive simple forms into an architectural system governed by principles of proportion, rhythm, and subtle variation. The outcome is a living space where identical geometric elements give rise to a rich tapestry of diverse spatial experiences. Throughout the home, meticulous minimalist detailing accentuates the inherent clarity of the overarching design, allowing the interplay of geometry, light, and landscape to command central attention. The circular volumes, orthogonal junctions, and precisely framed views collectively culminate in a residence that is both a striking sculptural statement and a highly practical living environment, showcasing the studio's ongoing commitment to exploring architecture through exact forms and a refined material palette.