Damascus House: Earthen Walls Outside, Stone and Gold Inside

A pair of contrasting images. The street side features simple rammed earth and plastered walls, with only a small door and a few high windows, giving no hint of the scale within. Pushing open the door and passing through a winding entrance hall reveals the courtyard: black and white striped stone walls, a fountain, colorful marble flooring, and gilded carved and painted wood. The contrast between inside and out is the core of this tradition. Avoid: depicting the street facade as ornate, allowing the main door to directly view the courtyard, using stone masonry and glazed tiles for the exterior walls, and making the interior as simple as the exterior.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一組對照的兩個畫面。街道那一側是素樸的夯土與抹灰牆面,只有一道小門與幾扇高窗,看不出裡面的規模;推門穿過轉折的門道之後是中庭:黑白相間的石砌牆、噴泉、彩色大理石地坪與金色的木雕彩繪。內外的落差是這個傳統的核心。避免:把臨街立面畫得華麗、讓大門直接看進中庭、外牆使用石砌與釉磚、把內部畫得跟外部一樣樸素。