Xiao Lin spent her formative years in the United States and China, and some of her most important memories are those that are embedded, from the front door of the family home to the inner rooms. He says: “I remember the kitchen where food was prepared and how everyone seemed to be gathering, attracted by the warmth as much as hunger.
Lin went on to earn a degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, then left early in his career. Whether he was in Beijing or Amsterdam, he realized that even the loudest spaces aren’t really finished until the insiders make their own.
In 2022 Lin founded his company,LESSON XIAOin East Hampton, New York. He specializes in residential and commercial projects. As he develops the concept, he is guided by his belief that architecture must be felt before it can be seen.
His signature buildings are clean in design and respond to the natural environment rather than separate from the landscape. For Lin, the perfect structure is one that is a compelling composition of emotion, sound, and light, paired with his personal preferences.
Lin makes ceramics in her spare time, and enjoys the way things look. “Shooting and polishing bring your own amazing, results that you never fully planned for,” he notes. “There’s a looseness that architecture, with all the predetermined processes, rarely provides.”
Today, Xiao Lin joins us on Friday Friday!
1. Birth Name Stone Seal
There is something quietly done about pressing the stone to the paper, setting it in front, holding it against the surface, and then revealing it. This sign bears my name in traditional Chinese, hand-carved into stone, a tradition passed down through generations of artisans who understood that the act of marking is an act of meaning. Each idea is not the same.
2. Carved Horn Head Massager
Cut from one piece of horn, the object changes when used: the strings grow well where the fingers are pressed, the body acquires a patina to the touch. The difference between the rough holes and the burnished exterior tells you how it was handled, and by whom. Audio recording recorded on top.
3. Grandmother’s Sandalwood Mala Bracelet
Grandma wore this every day, and the wood knows. The grain has softened where her wrist met the bead, the scent of sandalwood still there, faint, warm, persistent. It is my most precious possession. Wearing this, I carry both him and his memories.
4. Handmade Clay Incense Holder
This piece is thought of as a building. The long rectangular channel holds the incense at the end while the gently inclined base collects the ash when it falls, all things considered, nothing is wasted. It has the quiet logic of good architecture: a clear picture of work made beautiful by self-control.
5. Physical Architecture Model
We still do this by hand and the practice is increasingly mediated by screens, there is something irreplaceable about building something in space to understand something in space. Touching the ceiling, lowering your eye to room level. The model does not imitate the building, it thinks beside it, a way to process what drawing and rendering alone cannot solve.
Works by Xiao Lin of STUDIO XIAO:
Haven house
The walnut bookshelf in the main room follows the unusual ceiling line, its rounded corners and the folding staircase holding the room’s asymmetry with ease.
Oyster Cove
A floor-to-ceiling concrete fireplace is the living room, its short gray frame receding as the fire catches the eye. A wooden-framed lounge chair and natural coffee tables infuse the space with tactile warmth against a cool mineral background.
Cove Houses
Renovated to design for clients drawn to a mid-century sensibility, this East Hampton residence has been clad in exposed brick and corrugated aluminum. The materials echo the existing stone walls of the site while sharpening the geometry of the roof line. Inside and out, repetitive sliding details tie the facade, deck, bench seating, and pergola into one cohesive language. A sunken pool, edged with a waterfall, descends to meet the ground level, blurring the boundary between the built volume and the landscape.
Tier House
Perched high on a hill, this residence is conceived as a quiet, castle-like path from the road that gradually opens up as you step inside. The sturdy front fence and rock garden create a slow, deliberate procession towards the retreat.
Gleason Renovation
The TV room was also thought of as a place of silence. The back wall is anchored by a built-in sofa and bed with integrated lighting, a pull-out trundle fitted neatly underneath. The cabinet folds into the window space, joining the wall as one integrated space. Furniture chosen with a quiet purpose transforms a room into a sanctuary.
Photo by Xiao Lin.
