Skylit Arc Residence: ORIGIN STUDIO Brings Daylight and Everyday Life into Focus
At the Future Art & Design Award 2026 Autumn Season, ORIGIN STUDIO in Taichung, Taiwan, received the Gold Prize in the Interior Design category for Skylit Arc Residence. The project transforms an outdoor terrace into a bright interior kitchen, bringing natural light into the heart of everyday family life through a carefully engineered overhead glazing system.
Behind the calm appearance of the finished space lies extensive coordination of structure, drainage, waterproofing and building services. For SU HENG, the project reflects a wider design philosophy: the most effective interiors respond first to how people actually live, allowing technical complexity to recede behind an intuitive spatial experience.
Skylit Arc Residence is a three-story family home shaped by light, softened structure, and the quiet organization of daily life.
The project began with a practical but meaningful transformation on the first floor. The rear terrace, once an open-air area, was reworked with a rain shelter structure and integrated into the interior plan. By relocating the original kitchen piping to this area, the kitchen was moved toward the source of natural light, turning what could have been a secondary service zone into the brightest and most active part of the home.
From the entrance, the sequence of spaces unfolds gradually: living room, dining area, and finally the skylit kitchen. The generous dining table and pendant light form the center of family gathering, while full-height storage, a welcoming light detail, and a concealed robot vacuum station allow everyday functions to remain visually calm and organized.
Throughout the house, soft ivory tones, pale wood, curved edges, fluted glass, and sheer curtains create a consistent atmosphere across different floors. These elements are not used only for decoration; they help soften beams, columns, corners, and transitions, allowing the long vertical residence to feel more open and connected.
On the second floor, the master bedroom is planned as a private suite, combining sleeping, dressing, vanity, display, and storage functions. Curved wall forms and linear lighting reduce the weight of structural elements and give the room a gentle sense of enclosure.
The third floor is arranged for the children, with spaces planned around rest, study, storage, and future growth. Each room responds to different habits while keeping the same calm visual language.
Rather than pursuing a home that is only visually refined, this project focuses on how light, circulation, storage, and family interaction can be reorganized into a more natural rhythm. The result is a residence where design quietly supports everyday living.
Interview with Su Heng, Founder of ORIGIN STUDIO
Please give us a brief introduction about yourself and your creative background.
SU HENG: I am an interior designer and the founder of Origin Studio, based in Taichung, Taiwan. Our work focuses mainly on residential and commercial interiors. For me, design always begins with everyday life. Before defining a style, I prefer to understand how people actually use a space, how family members interact, and what problems truly need to be solved. I believe interior design is not simply about making a space look better, but about creating a more natural relationship between people and the way they live.
What inspired you to pursue a career in creative / art / design?
SU HENG: What attracted me to interior design was the possibility of changing everyday life through space. Sometimes a small adjustment to circulation, layout, or the relationship between the kitchen, dining area, and living room can completely change how a family uses a home. I also enjoy solving limitations. Every project comes with different conditions, whether from the building, structure, budget, or lifestyle. Finding a solution that feels natural rather than forced is one of the most satisfying parts of design for me.
Can you describe the creative process behind your work and what motivates you to create?
SU HENG: My process usually begins with observation and conversation. Before choosing materials or colours, I try to understand how the clients live, where they spend their time, and what feels inconvenient in their current environment. I then focus first on circulation and spatial relationships. I often ask whether a wall is really necessary, whether one space can support more than one function, or whether a simple change could improve the whole layout. What drives me is seeing a complicated space gradually become simpler, clearer, and easier to live in.
What was the most exciting or challenging part of creating the work you submitted to the competition?
SU HENG: One of the most challenging parts of Skylit Arc Residence was creating the kitchen itself. The kitchen was originally an outdoor terrace. We wanted to bring it into the interior while preserving natural light from above, so the design involved much more than interior finishes. The new canopy uses a stainless-steel structure with 5+5 mm laminated tempered glass. We had to carefully coordinate waterproofing, drainage slope, daylight, structural stability, and the connection with the neighbouring wall. The project also involved relocating plumbing, drainage, electrical systems, and kitchen equipment. What appears today as a simple, bright kitchen is actually the result of many architectural and technical decisions. Our goal was to let that complexity disappear, leaving only natural light and a comfortable place for everyday family life.
How would you describe your creative style and the key characteristics that define your work?
SU HENG: I do not usually define my work through one fixed style. Soft curves, natural materials, warm light, and restrained colours often appear in my projects, but I see them as tools rather than formulas. I care more about proportion, circulation, visual continuity, and how different functions can coexist naturally within the same space. If there is one consistent idea in my work, it would be this: Good design should still feel natural after people begin living with it.
What has been your experience participating in the competition? Were you satisfied with the process and results?
SU HENG: Participating in the Future Art and Design Award gave us a chance to look at the project from a different perspective. During a project, designers are often deeply focused on construction, materials, and technical details. Preparing it for an international competition requires us to step back and reconsider what the project is really about. Receiving the Gold Award for Skylit Arc Residence was meaningful because it showed that a project rooted in everyday life in Taiwan could still be understood across different cultural contexts.
Where do you see the future of the art and design industry heading in the next 5-10 years?
SU HENG: I believe interior design will become increasingly focused on flexibility and genuine human needs. Homes already need to support multiple functions. A dining table may also be a workspace, while a room may change purpose at different stages of life. Technology and AI will also become more deeply integrated into visualisation, communication, and technical workflows. However, I do not think technology will replace the most important part of design. Understanding people, observing behaviour, and judging what a space truly needs are still deeply human processes. The future value of designers will come from combining technology with empathy, experience, and professional judgement.
Editor’s Note
Skylit Arc Residence illustrates the difference between visual simplicity and technical simplicity. The luminous kitchen is made possible by structural glazing, coordinated services, drainage planning and careful integration with the existing building.
SU HENG’s approach is grounded in daily behaviour rather than a predetermined aesthetic. The Gold Prize recognises a project where architectural problem-solving supports a more comfortable domestic routine, and where the finished space allows the complexity of its construction to remain quietly in the background.
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Website : https://www.originstudio179.com.tw/
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