The Origin Villa was commissioned to dismantle six buildings in an “empty nest” village in Tonglu, China, and to build a new retreat complex in their place. Various combinations of local materials, such as bamboo, red brick, stone, and charred wood were used to highlight each building’s unique situation, also expressed in each one with a space of rest in nature (living room) and a more private space enclosed within rammed earth walls (bedroom). The coexistence of these two types of space is our solution to the conflicting human need to engage with and retreat from our surroundings.