On a slope above Lugu Lake in Yunnan, SongMoon organizes a modest program into two complementary volumes: a hilltop bookhouse that captures long views and a foothill homestay that settles into the terrain. Built from reclaimed timber, on-site stone sourced, and cypress-bark roofing, the project works with the mountain’s section, using double eaves, shaded thresholds, and a clerestory band to balance exposure and refuge while maintaining a restrained presence in the landscape.
SongMoon Homestay and Bookhouse Technical Information
- Architects: YID
- Location: Lugu Lake Scenic Area, Lijiang, Yunnan, China
- Gross Area: 860 m2 | 9,257 Sq. Ft.
- Project Years: 2023 – 2024
- Photographs: © Liang Jiajian Space
With the language of architecture, I seek faith within nature; with light and material, I create an authentic experience, so space can be tangible to the human soul.
– Yi Ping
Site, Program, and Section: Two Volumes on a Slope
SongMoon calibrates its program along the mountain’s section. The bookhouse occupies the crest to collect horizon lines and prevailing breezes, while the homestay sits at the foot where the slope meets established paths and settlement traces. This separation assigns distinct spatial roles: the upper volume is a prospect device with controlled exposure, the lower volume is a more introverted domestic figure that inherits ground contact and social proximity. From the lake, both read as low, horizontal silhouettes that recess into the topography rather than asserting vertical mass.
Roof geometry resolves the meeting of ground and sky. The hilltop roof tilts toward the lake, extending eaves that lower the eye level and shade the perimeter, while a second, lifted line forms a continuous clerestory band. The double-eave system produces a breathable edge where daylight skims deep into the plan and warm air can escape under the ridge. On the lower volume, a stone base and muted wall surfaces reinterpret Mosuo typologies, allowing the building to nest within terraced contours and align with vernacular grain without literal replication.
Across both volumes, the plan reinforces sectional intent. Larger apertures face long views and courtyards, and tighter openings address neighbors and paths. Circulation threads along the shaded perimeter, holding occupants between the interior mass and the exterior climate. This condition makes the architecture operate as a gradient mediator rather than a sealed object.
Material Assembly and Environmental Performance
A clear hierarchy organizes the envelope: a stone plinth of on-site debris carries a timber superstructure assembled from reclaimed members. Mass below and lightness above is not only a structural logic but also a climatic one. Stone moderates diurnal swings, storing heat by day and releasing it slowly at night, while timber allows a fast response to shifting wind and humidity. Interior finishes combine rough stone, dark brick floors, and solid wood to balance thermal inertia with tactile warmth at points of touch.
Cypress bark is hand-laid over roof decks and selected door leaves, forming a layered, capillary-breaking skin that sheds monsoon water and dampens impact noise from heavy rain. The bark’s uneven thickness creates micro air gaps that aid insulation and attenuate high-frequency sound, which improves acoustic comfort during storms. The material is locally legible, readily repairable, and expected to patinate, making weathering a visible timeline rather than a defect to be concealed.
The assembly accepts change as part of performance. Reused timber carries prior joinery marks that inform splice locations, keeping spans honest and connections accessible for maintenance. Finishes are breathable, allowing moisture to migrate outward and reducing the risk of interstitial condensation in a high-altitude, high-humidity climate. The result is an envelope that privileges reversibility, low embodied energy, and a predictable aging process.
Thresholds, Porosity, and Microclimate
A sequence of gray spaces extends domestic life beyond the enclosed rooms. Deep eaves, verandas, and corridor terraces act as climatic buffers, reducing glare, tempering rain, and encouraging air movement across facades. These semi-open zones allow the program to slide outward for much of the year, distributing occupancy across shaded edges where temperature and light are moderated without mechanical intervention.
Fully openable glazing aligns with the eave depth to prevent direct summer gain while admitting low winter sun. Latticed screens and clerestory apertures filter light, reducing contrast at the interior perimeter and enabling daylight to reach the back of rooms. Privacy is choreographed by offsetting view axes rather than relying on opaque barriers, so the plan maintains sightlines to the lake and mountains while sheltering sleeping and bathing areas.
At the bookhouse, a courtyard pine is positioned as an interior landscape instrument. It calibrates scale against the long view, marks time through shadow and growth, and anchors cross-ventilation paths between opposing openings. The tree connects the reading room to the sky and creates a vertical datum that ties floor, roof, and horizon into a single spatial register.
Making on the Mountain: Logistics, Craft, and Resource Loops
Construction logistics were inseparable from design outcomes. A dormant mountain road was reopened by hand before monsoon season, and crews camped on-site when rain cut access. Stone unearthed during roadwork became the project’s plinth, closing a material loop at the scale of the slope and limiting trucking. This closed-loop approach fixed the dimension and module early, as block sizes followed what the road yielded rather than an abstract specification.
Reclaimed timber stored by the owner’s family served as the primary framing. The stock’s variable section encouraged a frame-and-infill strategy that keeps connections visible and repairable. Cypress bark roofing was applied by hand in overlapping courses, a technique that can be patched locally after high winds or heavy precipitation. These craft-led decisions anticipate life-cycle maintenance in a remote context where spare parts and specialized labor are scarce.
Detailing favors robustness over novelty. The stone base lifts wood above the splashback and capillary rise, ventilated cavities allow assemblies to dry, and the layered envelope balances permeability with durability for a highland monsoon climate. The project reads as an aggregation of resilient parts tuned to their setting, suggesting a useful template for other mountain sites where access, weather, and locality set real limits on how buildings are conceived and kept in service.
About YID
YID (Yi Ping Design Studio) is an architecture firm based in China, founded by Yi Ping. Established with a vision of harmonizing architecture with natural landscapes, YID emphasizes the authenticity of materials, spatial rhythm, and locality. The practice draws on vernacular traditions and environmental responsiveness to craft meaningful retreats that foster human connection with nature. Through adaptive reuse, passive architecture strategies, and cultural sensitivity, YID’s work embodies a quiet resilience amidst its surroundings.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Client: Qi Qi
- Styling Design: Sun Hongyue
- Design Team: He Shanni, Jia Yufei
- Soft Decoration Execution: YOURKEY
- Photography: Liang Jiajian Space
- Video: Chu Mincong
