A stunning residential renovation in Beijing's western mountains has transformed an outdated family home into a light-filled sanctuary that harmoniously blends indoor and outdoor living. House J, designed by Atelier About Architecture, sits prominently in the hills with Fragrant Hills Park (Xiangshan Park) to the north and expansive views toward Yuquan Mountain to the east.

The 650-square-meter residence underwent a complete transformation in 2025 under the direction of lead architect Wang Ni and a collaborative team including Liu Xiaoxin, Jiang Wanchun, Dong Ning, Li Yang, Liao Hongxing, and Kexia. The project was constructed by Zhiyingzao Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd, with lighting design by Beijing Zhongxin Hengrui Lighting Design Co., Ltd and Viabizzuno.

The homeowner, who spent more than a decade living abroad, returned to find a property rich with memories but poorly suited to contemporary family life. The original courtyard's flowers and trees planted years ago remained lush and vibrant, while wild grass had grown freely alongside weathered red brick exterior walls and aging metal surfaces of an old sunroom. These elements became fragments of a bygone era that influenced the renovation's design philosophy.

The existing structure presented significant challenges, with an oversized central hall dominating the interior and compressing bedroom and living spaces on the upper floors. A protruding balcony had been enclosed as a sunroom, blocking substantial natural light and leaving much of the building's floor area trapped in shadow due to excessive depth. The family's changing dynamics over the past decade, with children grown and living independently across different countries, made the old layout increasingly impractical.

Atelier About Architecture's design strategy cleverly utilized the site's natural topography, taking advantage of a 1.5-meter height difference between the northern road-facing edge and the southern side. The east-facing side garden slopes gently downward by more than half a meter from north to south, creating subtle elevation changes that became sources of differentiated spatial expressions throughout the new design.

The renovation involved removing the protruding balcony and sunroom entirely, then resizing the original structure by expanding some areas while reducing others. Floor heights were reset to create a cohesive sense of scale throughout the home. The transformation introduces sunlight through strategically placed skylights that illuminate a double-height entrance hall, allowing light to flow through transitional spaces and reach a living room enclosed by inward-facing plants.

A striking feature of the new design is the cantilevered living room box positioned at the heart of the house, offering views toward a slightly offset dining area and sunken garden. Structural adjustments raised concrete beams to create a column-free indoor garden space beneath this floating living room, allowing natural light to flow freely while providing space for various plants to thrive. As vegetation matures, the floating box will eventually be embraced by tree canopies, creating seamless integration between interior and exterior greenery.

The second floor features a double-height central atrium serving as a passage to three bedrooms, with a corridor wrapping around the floating living room below. Due to the spatial shifts implemented in the design, each bedroom offers a different path and experience. As residents move through the space, views cut through both interior and exterior areas, revealing layered garden spaces wrapped in greenery across two levels.

Recognizing the homeowners' culinary expertise, the architects designed an open kitchen facing both the living room and the indoor-outdoor garden. This configuration allows food preparation and reading activities to remain spatially separated while enabling silent visual communication between different areas of the home. The dining area connects seamlessly with the outdoor garden through both layout and material choices, maintaining the original plants in their established locations.

The east garden, guided by stone pathways, serves as an independent entrance allowing visitors to arrive directly at the overlapping interior spaces from a courtyard embraced by distant mountains. This creates what the architects describe as a multidimensional, overlapping garden space where sunlight flows along paths of human activity—indoors, outdoors, and in semi-outdoor areas—illuminating every corner.

High-quality materials and fixtures throughout the project include products from Poliform, Toto, and Viabizzuno, ensuring both aesthetic appeal and functional durability. The landscape design, handled by team members Li Xin, Liu Shuai, Cao Jixue, and Wu Ziying, integrates seamlessly with the architectural interventions to create unified indoor-outdoor experiences.

The completed House J represents more than just a renovation—it embodies the architects' vision of creating spaces shaped by different spatial conditions that offer richness of spatial information. As the design team notes, everyone has their own garden, whether physical or spiritual, representing overlaps between indoor and outdoor spaces as well as reality and imagination. The project's success lies not in where spaces lead externally, but in how they open pathways inward to memory, spirit, and soul, creating a true sanctuary in Beijing's western mountains.