Transformed abode: Swapped the midcentury dwelling for a contemporary pool-inspired sanctuary
Modern Monterey Park Home Blends Chinese and American Culture
Artist Yi Kai and his wife Jian Zheng have created a unique living space in Monterey Park, California, by reimagining their home as a modern architectural piece that seamlessly blends Chinese cultural concepts with American modernist traditions.
The couple's 1956 midcentury home was torn down, and a new one was built from the ground up, designed by architect De Peter Yi and architect Laura Marie Peterson. The home's movement as it curves around the central kidney-shaped pool breaks out of the rigid house construct, symbolizing the blending of cultural elements.
The pool, inspired by Californian lifestyle and art, is a central element of the new house. It serves as a delightful surprise upon entering and organizes the house's spaces harmoniously, linking interior and exterior areas. The pool is framed by a curving second-story balcony and an 80-foot teak deck, which expand the sense of outdoor living and create "outdoor rooms" that blend nature and architecture.
The interiors, designed by Los Angeles architect Yo-ichiro Hakomori, are expansive and airy, with easy access to the outdoors. The home's design includes an outdoor spiral staircase, screened in nine 18-foot wooden strips from the couple's original home and painted in red and blue with a seven-tier white base. Asymmetrical windows throughout both floors provide indirect lighting for Kai's artworks.
The first floor features a first-floor bedroom with an in-suite bathroom for aging-in-place purposes and an art studio for Kai. The home's interiors reflect the artist's Chinese American heritage, with Kai's works blending aspects of his cultural heritage.
Kai, who was drafted into the People's Army as a railway soldier at age 15 in China and later fled China and relocated to the United States, hopes to open the home to the public for salons, exhibitions, and cross-cultural exchanges. He describes the home as a continuously evolving artwork, reflecting values of experimentation and transformation, a creative process perhaps rooted in both his own artistic sensibility and broader cultural dialogues.
Overall, the Monterey Park home reflects a blend of Chinese cultural concepts of fluidity and harmony with nature and American modernist traditions of open-plan indoor-outdoor living, resulting in a unique, personal, and artistically resonant living space that honors both cultural identities. The sight lines from the terrace are constantly changing, depending on where you look, creating a dynamic and ever-evolving living space that is a testament to the couple's creative vision and cultural heritage.
Read also:
- The market for Kraft Lignin is projected to increase at a rate of 7.2% each year until 2034.
- Exploring the Advantages of Outdoor Group Meditation for Enhancing the Mind-Body Union
- Hidden beneath the appealing aesthetic of Consume Me's artwork lies a more ominous nature
- Elderly Competitor: 96-year-old Donald makes Countdown history as the oldest contestant ever
