Property News · August 30, 2016

How China’s luxury homes are proud to be Chinese again


Out with European design, in with traditional architecture
China’s most expensive house, Unique Taohuayuan, lists for CNY1 billion (USD149 million) and features traditional Chinese architecture. Image credit: Sotheby’s International Realty
Some of the world’s most luxurious residential properties incorporate European charms into their architecture.
Not anymore in China.
CNN reports that affluent homeowners in China are turning inwards, to their ancient Middle Kingdom past, for architectural inspiration, in a remarkable turnaround for a country that once underwent an entire “cultural revolution” to reject the old ways.
“It’s been in the last two or three years that traditional design elements have been increasingly employed in high-end properties,” Guo Yi, a marketing executive at property consultancy Yahao, told CNN.
Sunny Liu, general manager of property research firm China Index Academy, also noted a shift toward traditional architecture among most of the high-value villa products in Beijing. “We can see this trend of traditional styles becoming more and more popular in the market, especially in the very top-end of the luxury sector,” he said.
More: 5 marvellous structures built for the Olympic Games in Asia
Luxury property developer Domvs London is now mulling a “mega-development” near Hangzhou that, aside from following the requisite feng shui guidelines, features a man-made lake with traditional pavilions, plus a “Great Wall.”
“Buyers are becoming more design savvy,” Domvs London founder Jon O’Brien told CNN. “As the Chinese market becomes more sophisticated, and (people) travel globally, they quickly learn that pastiche, ill-conceived, mock-Western ‘Disneyland’ architecture has no longevity in terms of design or investment. That’s why there is a recent trend toward Chinese traditional exterior architecture, albeit with contemporary interiors and amenities.”
Exclusivity also plays into this newfangled affinity for traditional-looking but super-luxurious homes. Handcrafted materials and décor in traditional Chinese architecture make for powerful status symbols, as they turn out to be more expensive than those in the West. The usage of such also allows ultra-moneyed homeowners to delineate themselves from the nouveau riche and the middle class who tend to favour knockoffs of Western homes.
“A Chinese buyer with this much money has likely traveled extensively and probably already owns property abroad — maybe even a French château,” Liz Flora, editor-in-chief of the online luxury publication Jing Daily, told CNN.
Read next: Chinese government bans ‘weird’ shaped buildings – but not everyone takes note

Source : property-report.com
Read more…How China’s luxury homes are proud to be Chinese again

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