Project Name: Artist Residence and Studio in NY

Location: Game Farm Road, Catskill, New York, USA

Architecture / Interior / Landscape / Lighting Design: Horizontal Design

Design Period: November 2019 to November 2021

Construction Period: November 2021 to May 2025

Project Area: 1,026 m²

Design Features: Nestled within a sprawling 500-acre landscape in upstate New York, this artist residence and studio by Horizontal Design represents a rare convergence of Eastern philosophical thinking and the wild, untamed nature of the Catskills. Completed in 2025 after a six-year journey shaped by pandemic delays, budgetary pivots, and deep client collaboration, the 1,026-square-metre home for artist Emily Cheng and her husband Wolf-Dieter Stoeffelmeier stands as one of the most culturally nuanced residential projects to emerge from the region in recent memory.

Led by design partners Bing Ju, Ling Yang, and Qinchao Pan, the project draws its spatial logic from the classical Chinese concept of wandering in a garden, arranging volumes not in rigid succession but as a series of interlocking forms that breathe between courtyards. Each courtyard is oriented differently, framing a distinct mood, a particular quality of light, and a unique relationship to the surrounding trees and wildlife. A central gallery spine threads through the composition, functioning simultaneously as circulation and exhibition space, a gesture that honours the client's life as a practising artist.

Rather than imposing upon the land, the architecture defers to it. Hundred-year-old trees informed where rooflines could rest flat, offering a terrace for stargazing. The multi-pitched roof deflects heavy Catskill snowfall with quiet pragmatism. Insulated concrete forms replace the originally envisioned exposed concrete, while light-toned timber surfaces shift subtly with the seasons, aging alongside their inhabitants.

What distinguishes this project most profoundly, however, is its philosophical intent. As lead designer Bing Ju reflects, the guiding principle was to connect to the site with goodwill, to respect the inherent order of all things, and to craft spaces capable of holding the full spectrum of human emotion.

Design Team: Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Shenzhen with an additional studio in Beijing, Horizontal Design has established itself as one of the leading multidisciplinary design practices in contemporary China. Under the creative direction of founding partners Bing Ju, Ling Yang, and Qinchao Pan, the firm operates across architecture, interior design, landscape design, and product design, delivering integrated solutions that address both the technical and experiential dimensions of the built environment.

Central to Horizontal Design's design methodology is a rigorous engagement with Eastern cultural heritage, specifically the philosophical traditions of Taoism and Buddhism, which inform the firm's approach to spatial sequencing, materiality, and the relationship between the built and natural environment. This cultural grounding is systematically combined with advanced digital analytical tools and internationally informed design frameworks, enabling the practice to produce work that is simultaneously rooted in Chinese identity and responsive to global contemporary discourse.

Since its founding, the firm has received sustained recognition across the international design community, including multiple listings in AD100 China's Most Influential Architects and Interior Designers, the 2020 German Design Award, the IFI Global Excellence Award, and the 2019 AHEAD Global Winner for Best Resort Hotel. Horizontal Design's portfolio spans hospitality, residential, cultural, and commercial typologies across China and beyond.