Fa Haus

Love without fearing troubles, as I will fix you

As we sat by the large wooden table on the ground floor, Jean poured some cold honey water for us. The heat just faded away, as the peacefulness inside Fa Haus keeps all the hustle and bustle out. Jeam sat down with a coy look, telling us about his encounter with Jean. While he often forgot the details, Jean remembered exactly what it was like when falling in love as every other romantic woman. While bickering and bantering with each other, the couple pieced together their love story for us, starting from thirty years ago.

Originally from Kaohsiung, Jeam began to work as an apprentice in a restaurant when he was a teenager. He started to learn about Japanese cuisine and seafood, and his excellent skills just made up for his being slow of speech. (In fact, we were impressed by his exquisite craftsmanship from the fruit carving served in the breakfast at Fa Haus!) Later, he went to work at his brother’s car maintenance factory. Once, he was assigned to repair some machine at the wood factory in Kaohsiung owned by Jean’s family. “He ended up bringing me home,” Jean said with a smile, and Jeam immediately added, “I was picked up by you!” In our laughter, the facts were not traceable anymore, but no matter who fell in love first, the most commendable would be their love and companionship all the way to the present. The first movie they went together was I Love Trouble. Afterward, from getting along to understanding each other, and seeing each other as a sweet trouble, they decided to live and work together in the family wood factory. Jeam’s honesty and sensibility were what attracted Jean the most. Not only were they able to rely on each other, but they were able to unburden themselves to each other, which was not commonly-seen in traditional families.

From the light to Fa Haus, from exterior to interior, employing the exquisite construction method

As the couple loved travelling, their footprints have reached almost every country in the world. As they admired architectures and savored the life on the road, the idea to integrate travelling into life had sprouted. With fifteen-year experience in the wood industry, Jeam first came to Kenting as proposed by Jean’s brother. There they ran a hotel as partners, while Jeam also worked as the hardware manager, supervising the construction of their first fair-faced concrete lodging called “The Light.” It was also during that period, accompanied by the wonderful atmosphere of Kenting, that Jeam fell in love with everything in architecture. Thus he went observing architectures of various countries and delved into the construction methods. And at the other end, Jean was also devoted to the family’s wood factory, as the couple agreed that after saving enough money, they would move to Kenting where the air was fresh and start a new life there.

Eventually, in 2015, the couple bought a piece of land in Back Bay and retired from the wood industry and the partnership business. Jeam said frankly, “I used to co-own things with others, now that I have my own b&b, I will hold on to my principles.” From The Light to Fa Haus, Jeam once again brought the architect Chunyi Hsu on board. Hsu was good at integrating the beautiful lights with the fair-faced concrete and boldly challenging the architect’s mindset. The process of their communication was just like “the mission impossible,” as described by Jeam, who also loved to challenge himself. Repeatedly communicated with the designer for more than a year before finalizing the plan. In the meantime, Jeam also went to Japan with the designer to study Japanese aesthetics of architecture, learning from the expert for the suitable cement mix, and constantly explore the construction methods, all in order to create the one- and-only building of wonder. As The Light attracted visitors with its striking appearance of the fair-faced concrete, after years of exploration for inspiration, Fa Haus has internalized the concrete structure into its interlaced interior space with the more ingenious transformation of light and shadow. Fa Haus had a simple look but with surprises hidden inside, just like Jeam, a man with bottled-up talents. In the process of supervising the construction, he was even more involved, from personally padding the surface voids of fair-faced concrete to climbing high to clean glass windows, the dream lodging was finally realized. When visiting Fa Haus, one would feel their love and sincerity.

Falling in love with fair-faced concrete and his wife, both are the feasts to the eyes

“I fell in love with fair-faced concrete at first sight! I like its elegance, just like the makeup- free look of my wife, I’d never get tired of looking at.” What lied behind the joke was the romantic feeling towards architecture and his wife. Jeam recalled that the most romantic thing he has ever done probably would be building this house for Jean. When one took a close look of the logo of Fa Haus, it looked like an image of the building sitting in the glow of the sunset, but when looking at a distance, it looked like Jean’s pretty face in profile, smiling brightly. Jeam’s fondness for fair-faced concrete was like Jean’s longing for a simple life, so the couple chose to lead a slow life and build their dream home by this charming beach.

“Let’s stand closer together!” When we took a photo for the couple, Jean smiled shyly like a little girl, but Jeam, who originally was the shy one, stretched out his arms and pulled her closer to himself. At the moment when the shutter clicked, Jeam’s eyes turned into crescents as he grinned, and Jean leaned against him as time has gone back to the past. From lovers to becoming a family, the optimistic couple supported each other, and the warmth of their companionship also heated up Fa Haus and the hearts of the travellers.