How do you create dwelling in a foreign place?

In the search for dwelling, I am immediately drawn to the kitchen. 

I love the implications of the kitchen - a place for sharing, making, 
learning, and gathering. I also love the interplay between the physical
heat of this space and the emotional warmth introduced by the people
who gather in it. 

This is why I created the Huo + Hygge house. I wanted to create an 
open, yet modulated residence where heat acts as an organizing 
element -  helping designate where public and private spaces should 
occur. The overall form of the building is contingent upon the central
fireplace that guides the occupant between the public spaces of the 
kitchen and office. Once you ascend or descend from that second floor, 
the more private the spaces become.

The foreign element of the project comes from the site’s context. 
Located in the Grünerløkka neighborhood of Oslo, Norway, this 
house sits among many traditional Norwegian residences of the 
vernacular style. This project attempts to explore how to construct a 
familiar experience of home for me as a Chinese-American and 
simultaneously assimilate to the Norwegian culture presented. Part 
of this exercise involved drawing from Asian food vessels for form 
and material inspiration and following the natural registration of the 
surrounding site buildings of Norway.