SongMoon Homestay And Bookhouse / YID

Architects: YID
Area: Homestay 680 m² + Bookhouse 180 m²
Year: 2024
Photography: Liang Jiajian Space
Lead Architects: Yi Ping
Architects Team: He Shanni, Jia Yufei
Styling Design: Sun Hongyue
Soft Decoration Execution: YOURKEY
Materials: Washed stone, Limestone, Reclaimed wood, Textured paint, Cypress bark
Client: Qi Qi
Location: Yunnan
Country: China

SongMoon Homestay and Bookhouse occupies a mountainous site overlooking Lugu Lake in Yunnan, where YID has created a retreat rooted in local culture and the natural environment. The project comprises a hilltop bookhouse and a three-story homestay at the mountain’s base, both built with materials sourced directly from the site or repurposed from local structures. Stone, timber, cypress bark, and handmade construction techniques reinforce a sense of continuity with the land, while large openings and layered eaves draw landscape and light into each interior. The design emphasizes calmness and tactility, offering guests spaces where views unfold gradually and the environment shapes daily rhythms. Guided by Yi Ping’s pursuit of authenticity and spatial clarity, SongMoon seeks to nurture a subtle dialogue between people and the landscape. Through its material palette and spatial openness, the project presents a retreat grounded in the region’s traditions and ecological sensibilities.

Set against the pine-filled slopes surrounding Lugu Lake, SongMoon Homestay and Bookhouse introduces a quiet architectural presence that responds to both terrain and tradition. Rather than approaching the steep site as a constraint, YID shaped the project as a pair of structures that emerge from the mountain at different elevations, each attuned to its specific vantage. The bookhouse, perched on a high plateau, is conceived as a place of contemplation, while the homestay at the foot of the slope adopts the grounded character of local Mosuo dwellings. Their relationship forms a vertical journey through changing atmospheres, from rooted domesticity to an outlook that opens toward sky and water.

At the summit, the bookhouse extends from the hillside with a stone foundation and timber framework, creating a dual expression of weight and lightness. Its roof tilts subtly toward the lake, and the doubled eaves generate a buffer between enclosure and exposure. The clerestory above the lower eave admits a horizontal wash of light, giving the space an elevated calm and allowing breezes and birdsong to filter through. Inside, expansive glazing directs attention outward, while a small courtyard centered on a pine tree reinforces the building’s connection to its setting. The composition allows the structure to appear simultaneously anchored and airborne, shaped as much by the elements as by construction.

Accessing the site required a significant undertaking: a dormant mountain road had to be reopened by the client’s father, who led crews in carving a workable path before seasonal rains arrived. Weather soon cut the route into ravines, forcing workers to camp on the mountaintop throughout the build. This circumstance defined the project’s material choices. Stone excavated from roadwork was reused for walls and terraces, and timber reclaimed from older structures contributed a softened, timeworn quality. Roofs and doors were assembled with cypress bark, which absorbs rainfall with a muted resonance that aligns with the project’s quiet character.

At the mountain’s base, the homestay adopts a more terrestrial expression. Its stone plinth and earth-toned exterior engage the slope directly, while semi-open transitional spaces—shaded eaves, terraces, and corridor-like thresholds—blur distinctions between inside and out. These areas act as social and climatic intermediaries, acknowledging local patterns of movement and Mosuo spatial traditions. The rhythm of timber framing beneath pitched roofs emphasizes the building’s structural legibility, continuing the project’s dialogue with vernacular construction.

Throughout the interiors, the material palette remains tactile and reserved. Rough stone, dark brick flooring, solid wood furniture, and linen textiles create a subdued atmosphere that foregrounds changes in weather and daylight. Views are treated as integral spatial components: bedrooms and verandas open fully to the mountain, allowing the landscape to become a constant companion. Light passing through lattices produces shifting shadows, marking time in a manner that reinforces the project’s meditative intent.

For YID, SongMoon is conceived as a destination crafted through the discipline of local materials and the orchestration of light. The architecture is meant to recede rather than assert itself, encouraging an experience shaped by quiet observation. By following the mountain’s contours and adopting its moods, the project reframes hospitality as an act of alignment with place. Stone, wood, and water converge in a setting where architecture becomes a gentle mediator, offering visitors a momentary home in which the natural world assumes the role of host.