Villa Can Feliz by Jørn Utzon

Twenty-two years had passed from the construction of Can Lis when Jørn Utzon and his wife decided to spend the majority of the year in Mallorca. Due to the high humidity in winters, they handed Can Lis to their children and moved to a new house that they named Can Feliz. It is in the mountains, far away from the humid sea breezes, with big windows overlooking the green pine grove that reaches down to the sea.

Although both houses use the same materials, the second is a house in the mountains that belongs more to the traditional houses of the island, even reaching the point of being passed by unnoticed. Can Feliz is built round a terrace, following the pattern of orthogonal axis and is built under one tiled roof.

However much Utzon has insisted on his joy at receiving visitors, the fact that the house is so difficult to locate has contributed to the creation of the myth of the badly treated architect who has retreated into his refuge. Can Feliz has appeared in publication as it were a magical place and, includes, of course, the indispensable requirement of any utopia, apart from it marvellous qualities, be an insuperable gap from the rest of the world. In the same way as any novel on magic lands starts - with the loss of memory of the shipwrecked person who does not know how he arrived on the island, or the predicable cough made by the servant right in the moment when the narrator reveals the secret coordinates - the published articles on Can Feliz are reports by visitors who affirm that they are not able to remember the way that leads to the house.

(quoted from http://storiesofhouses.blogspot.com/2005/07/can-lis-and-can-feliz-in-mallorca-by.html)

note to helen

Since my elevators are in constant loop, you have to wait for them to come (just like normal ones).

Also, I put a delay time that works fine in the elevator connecting Zhang Yin's private office and lobby, but strangely delay time doesn't seem to work on the other elevators :( So the key is to be alert and quickly hop on the elevators when they reach the base.

links

My dining table and elevators in SketchUp:

As you know I remodelled Zhang Yin's elevator because I lost the one I imported to UT. The overall shape is correct however the dimension, scale and the texture scale might be slightly off.

My overall model in SketchUp:

Shows most of the static meshes I used in UT (seems like either I forgot to put the meeting space, or it is on hide...)

UT Draft 1:

that was me experimenting with the movers.

UT Draft2:

almost looks like the final model, with minimum lights.

Finally... UT Final:


(I named the files correctly but since my name's too long... the names got cut off)

peer reviews

Not sure if we're to put our reviews of others or others' reviews of us. So, I put both.

My reviews on peers.

Peers' reviews on me.
(the left one is reviewed by Ying Gong Huang. I kinda stole the sheet from his blog. :P Thanks Brad!)

The Meeting Space

It is a fusion of power ideas, Yin's down to earth nature with wooden lines, and Donatella's extravagant background with curving/yielding glass and metal columns. And how they can work in harmony despite the differences.

The facade is almost entirely glass, creating an open space that contains their energy. Besides, dining with a stunning city view is always refreshing (I know in UT you can only see the texture detail of your glass, oh well...).

The dining table and chairs in Realtime.

Donatella Versace's space

Overall view of Versace's office with curtain wall facade. It is meant to catch one's attention as suited to her personality and industry.

All public eyes are on her ever since she became head designer of Versace. She is used to being the centre of media attention, and the lack of privacy, she [appears to] embrace it.


Yielding and curving walls and glass to suit her temperamental personality. The constant change in the curves along the office also represents fashion as an always changing industry .


The stairs is lavish and has moody lighting, to suit her artistic flair and the nature of her industry.

There are two possible office spaces that she can use, considering a moody person she is. The space on the top level is almost entirely surrounded by glass, suits a 'tan, blonde and blingin' person she is.

Or, she could use the bottom level space that is more private but still has a degree of lavishness, suits her lesser known side: the committed, highly driven and workaholic side (yes she has one).

Zhang Yin's space

She is a private person, rarely grant interviews, and remains largely unnoticed until recently. The enveloping timber frame encloses the space and suits her need for privacy and her down-to-earth persona.

However, if one is the richest woman in the world, privacy doesn't come easy. The timber frame does let outsiders see what's inside to some extent.

The vast lobby of her gigantic business is appropriate to welcome guests.

The giant staircase to her private office represents rise, growth, potential, and her vision (and the queen of cardboard ambition) . The stairs demand respect, and Yin is animated, but driven and tough, and this garners a lot of respect from the male-dominated business world.


The main material is timber is to reflect her nature-friendly business and her the simplicity of her ingenious business idea. The spaces at the side of the staircase is for her employees.

Then there's her practical side. If she's in a hurry/tired of climbing the giant staircase, she could always use the elevator that goes up to her private office.

The private office, in contrast to the lobby, is warm and friendly. The timber structure lets in light and creates an openness that doesn't stifle her vision.