Dongguan Zhonghai Yunlu Mansion Area

China Overseas Yunlu Residence is a large-scale residential landscape in the Dayun New Area of Dongguan, Guangdong, immediately adjacent to Shenzhen's Longgang district and fronting Yingzuishan Park to the south. The client is Dongguan China Overseas Jiaye Real Estate, with landscape design by L&A Design Guangzhou Studio Two and contracting by Shenzhen Cairui Horticulture and Shenzhen Leixin Environmental Construction. Covering 48,000 square metres, the scheme is positioned as a hillside villa retreat for the whole family and is guided by the conviction that residential landscape must return to life itself, reconsidering the relationships between people and themselves, and between people and nature. Drawing on the scholarly ritual culture of the Chinese literati and the vocabulary of neo-Chinese design, the project constructs an ideal mountain dwelling. The design team argues that landscape needs soul, restraint and a distinct temperament in order to generate value; after the first impression of refined ornament and luxury, residents should find a more sincere, plain-hearted emotion. Differently atmosphered spaces are therefore programmed for every age: elders read, host friends, taste tea, meditate, stroll, exercise and enjoy blossoms and rain in the gardens; children play and splash in the playground; young professionals retreat from busy lives into a warm harbour of body and mind. Barrier-free access, a smart community life circle and a Happiness Home care system are fully implemented. Arrival is staged through elevation changes that produce a ceremonial gatehouse, with a layered central axial road expressing privacy and dignity. The Zai Xin Garden entrance is enclosed by spring-water pools and woodland; garden corners become neighbourhood gathering points; public pavilions and a sun lawn host shared social life; and viewing platforms carved into the elevation of the Brocade Valley invite lying, sitting, listening to rain and playing chess. The valley itself carries rich plant communities and dense woodland, offering cool summer shade and the pleasure of discovering hidden scenery. A dual-purpose swimming pool links to the under-croft level and, outside the swimming season, doubles as a community activity plaza. The play programme is made three-dimensional, replacing fixed sloping terrain with soft, flexible mesh-like surfaces to create an all-age playground that acts as a generator of community life, while every alley and node is given its own theme of flowers, water, rocks, wind, blossoms, snow and moon.