Ningyang Road of Qingdao City was one of the earliest developments during the German-occupation period (1898–1914). In 2020, Ningyang Road started a renovation project. By this chance, a local coffee brand “Largo” invited us to Ning Yang Road, renovating an old house in this historic district.

The project’s site is located in a courtyard of a century-old German house (now has been listed heritage) on Ningyang Road. It consists of three rooms of different sizes, separating from the German-style main house built around the 1950s. The three rooms, totaling 40 square meters, were all brick and timber construction.

A large middle room with a single sloping roof faces the street. It had been converted into a store frontage from the original car entrance of the courtyard’s wall. There is a double-roofed room opening to the inner courtyard but not connected to the other two rooms on the left hand. On the right side exists a small room not directly connected to the street. The double-roofed room has been using the stone courtyard wall as part of its one side, and the roof above is held up by a light steel tie-rod roof frame, creating an attractive, prototypical room section.