wǒ shì fàn jiǔ jiāng

我是范久江

My name is Fan Jiujiang

wǒ shì yī míng jiàn zhù shī

我是一名建筑师

I am an architect

hé wǒ de fū rén dí dí hái yǒu liǎng zhǐ māo

和我的夫人翟翟，还有两只猫

I live in a 40 square meter apartment

yī qǐ shēng huó zài yī gè píng mǐ de gōng yù dāng zhōng

一起生活在一个40平米的公寓当中

With my wife Zhaizhai and two cats

zhè gè fáng zi zài háng zhōu de zuì xī biān

这个房子在杭州的最西边

Our apartment is situated in the westernmost part of Hangzhou

jǐn lín zhù xī xī shī dì

紧邻著西溪湿地

Neighboring Xixi Wetland

tòu guò chuāng hù zhèng hǎo néng kàn dào háng zhōu xī hú shí jǐng zhī yī

透过窗户正好能看到杭州西湖十景之一

The window opens to one of the ten sceneries of West Lake

shuāng fēng chā yún zhōng de běi gāo fēng

“双峰插云”中的北高峰

The north peak of the Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds

shì nián chū de yī gè xiǎo qū

是2000年初的一个小区

The estate was developed in early 2000

zhǎi kāi jiān zhǎng jìn shēn

窄开间、长进深

The apartment is narrow and long

yǒu mǐ de gāo dù

有3.8米的高度

With a 3.8 meter floor height

xī wàng zài zhè gè gāo dù xià miàn néng zuò yī xiē hǎo wán de shì ér

希望在这个高度下面能做一些好玩的事儿

We hope that something fun can be achieved in the space

wǒ men dì yī bù jiù shì bǎ suǒ yǒu de qiáng quán bù chāi guāng

我们第一步就是把所有的墙全部拆光

First thing we did was tearing down all the walls

zhòng xīn zài shè jì yī xià

重新再设计一下

And we rearranged the setup

jìn lái shì chú fáng

进来是厨房

For the kitchen

wǒ men shè dìng le yī gè mǐ de gāo dù

我们设定了一个1.95米的高度

We settled on a height of 1.95m

zài zhè gè gāo dù xià

在这个高度下

It is a height

wǒ men xǐ zǎo zuò fàn yě kě yǐ yòng dé hěn shū fú

我们洗澡、做饭，也可以用得很舒服

That we are comfortable with to shower and cook under it

jìn dào lǐ miàn zuò le yī gè mǐ jiàn fāng de yuàn zi

进到里面，做了一个3.8米见方的“院子”

Going further in a 3.8*3.8m square courtyard greets you

tóng shí yòu zuò le yī zuò shān

同时又做了一座“山”

And a few steps are installed in the shape of a mountain

zài shān dǐng de yī gè dòng kū lǐ biān

在山顶的一个“洞窟”里边

The cave on the top of the mountain

shì wǒ men shuì jué de dì fāng

是我们睡觉的地方

Is our bedroom

wǒ men de wò shì céng gāo zhǐ yǒu mǐ

我们的卧室层高只有1.6米

The bedroom is only 1.6m high

huì jué dé tè bié yǒu bāo guǒ gǎn

会觉得特别有包裹感

You feel like being embraced in here

zhè gè yuàn zi dǐ xià yǒu dà liàng de chǔ cáng kōng jiān

这个院子底下有大量的储藏空间

A huge storage space is hidden under the courtyard

zhěng gè jiā lǐ kōng wú yī wù de zhuàng tài shì hěn róng yì dá dào de

整个家里空无一物的状态是很容易达到的

So it’s very feasible to put away everything

zài huà mù duō céng bǎn de dà jiā jù lǐ biān

在桦木多层板的大家具里边

In this huge piece of birch furniture

wǒ men zuò le jiē jìn gè lì fāng mǐ chǔ cáng

我们做了接近14个立方米（储藏）

We have about 14 cube meters of storage space

rán hòu zài chú guì chú fáng hé wèi shēng jiān

然后在橱柜、厨房和卫生间

And in the cabinets, kitchen and bathroom

yòu zuò le jiē jìn gè lì fāng mǐ lái chǔ cáng

又做了接近4个立方米来储藏

There is 4 more cubic meters

wǒ men xiàn zài hái yǒu dà bàn de chǔ cáng miàn jī méi yǒu bèi tián mǎn

我们现在还有大半的储藏面积没有被填满

Now half of this space is empty

wǒ men zhǐ xuǎn zé le yī zhǎn dēng

我们只选择了一盏灯

The only piece of independent furniture in our apartment

zuò wèi zhěng gè kōng jiān lǐ miàn de jiā jù

作为整个空间里面的家具

Is this lamp

wài qiáng chuāng yě gěi tā zhì huàn diào le

外墙窗也给它置换掉了

The original window is also replaced with this one you see now

zēng jiā le nèi bù tà tà mǐ de kuān dù

增加了内部榻榻米的宽度

Which helps to realize a larger indoor area

dāng wǒ men de jiā zhǎng fù mǔ ǒu ěr lái de shí hòu

当我们的家长父母偶尔来的时候

When our parents come visit

zhè gè dì fāng jiù biàn chéng le yī gè xiǎo wò shì

这个地方就变成了一个小卧室

This area functions as their temporary bedroom

wǒ fū rén shì yī wèi fēi cháng rè ài měi shí zhì zuò de rén

我夫人是一位非常热爱美食制作的人

My wife has a love for cooking good food

wǒ men zuò le jìn mǐ zhǎng de liǎng cè de cāo zuò tái miàn

我们做了近5米长的两侧的操作台面

So we install about 5-meter long working surface on both sides

wǒ men yǒu yī gè shuāng kāi mén de dà bīng xiāng

我们有一个双开门的大冰箱

And we own a double door refrigerator

zuò le kǎo xiāng zuò le xǐ wǎn jī

做了烤箱、做了洗碗机

An oven, a dishwasher

zhěng gè chú fáng de gōng néng fēi cháng wán bèi

整个厨房的功能非常完备

The kitchen is fully functional

zài dì tái lǐ miàn hái cáng le yī gè dà zhuō zi

在地台里面还藏了一个大桌子

And there is a table hidden among the blocks

zhuō zi shēng qǐ lái yǐ hòu

桌子升起来以后

When it’s elevated

wǒ men kě yǐ zài shàng miàn kàn shū zuò bǐ jì

我们可以在上面看书、做笔记

We can read on it

zhōu mò hái kě yǐ yuē péng yǒu yī qǐ lái zuò xià wǔ chá de huó dòng

周末还可以约朋友一起来做下午茶的活动

And we can invite friends over for afternoon tea on weekends

yīn wèi wǒ men duǎn qī nèi méi yǒu yào xiǎo hái de jì huà

因为我们短期内没有要小孩的计划

We are not planning to have children anytime soon

wǒ men hái yǒu liǎng zhǐ māo

我们还有两只猫

We have two cats

zhè gè kōng jiān qí shí shì wèi wǒ men jiā sì gè chéng yuán

这个空间其实是为我们家四个成员

The space is designed for the four members of our family

yī qǐ shè dìng de

一起设定的

In our apartment

zài wǒ men zhè gè jiā lǐ biān shēng huó biàn dé tè bié xián sàn

在我们这个家里边，生活变得特别闲散

Life becomes leisurely enjoyment

wǒ men kě yǐ tǎng zài zhè ér shài shài tài yáng dòu dòu māo

我们可以躺在这儿晒晒太阳、逗逗猫

We could lie in the sun, have some quality time with our cats

bǎ mù bù jiàng xià lái qù kàn yī chǎng diàn yǐng

把幕布降下来，去看一场电影

Or lower the screen and have a movie night