The ChangGe Village just southwest of Beijing, China, is subject to some significant climate and topographical challenges. Although exceptionally exotic and picturesque, the landscape surrounding a recent farmhouse remodel project by Evolution Design exemplifies many of these environmental challenges.

Positioned in the middle of a region that is traditionally plagued by water shortages, the original 1970s farmhouse on this property made matters even worse by offering no water supply infrastructure or interior restroom. Although rain is scarce in the region, storms can be quite fierce when they occur. Because the interior floor elevation of the original farmhouse was approximately 20 centimeters lower than the elevation of the courtyard, the house was always minutes away from becoming a pond whenever it rained.

Transforming the warn-out farmhouse into a luxury residential getaway, Evolution Design took great pains to integrate the structure seamlessly into its natural surroundings. While it was keen to allow the shadows from exterior swinging bamboo to infiltrate the home through large wall-length windows, the organization was understandably less excited about the prospect of leaving residents without running water or allowing rain runoff to come barreling into their living room.

Evolution Design’s solution to the water problem was twofold. First, it installed a new 2-cubic-meter water tank to collect rainwater for use during times of drought. Then it raised the elevation of the interior floor, lowered the elevation of the courtyard grounds, and created new sewer systems to control wastewater during storms.

The resulting remodel is a luxury retreat that erases all traces of its humble past, with a sophisticated and rustic home that still pays homage to its past.