dali mayr

HEWR, Yunnan, China — 2017

Aligning the goals of the client – a wellness resort – with the limitations of the land in the most harmonious way, without compromising on style and function.

MAYR is a vision for a holistic wellness retreat overlooking Erhai Lake in Dali. As a part of the esteemed FX Mayr Physicians Austria, it is to be an ecologically important, luxury boutique retreat whose key focus is integrating medicine with emotional well-being.

Feng shui is a crucial part of Chinese culture. It influences everything from business deals to health and wellness. In simple terms, its goal is to harmonize individuals with their environment. So to plan a resort whose primary goal is emotional and physical harmony, we began planning the positioning of the building in accordance with what might be a more harmonious orientation.

The acquired land is narrow, and the property is next to another commercially planned resort. With only one access point, the limits were clear.The treatment area had to be the heart of the site. The resort requirements designate all 70 rooms have a view, are easily accessible, and are in highly qualified unspoiled landscape.

Strong winds are not uncommon in this part of Erhai, but are seen as a very negative aspect in Fengshui, so the building had to be closed from the windiest side – that it was the south side created a design challenge. To solve this, we built a green barrier towards the neighboring resort, and used the landscape to close the building to the winds as a way to compromise with the land, and keep the design moving forward.Opening the building to the view side and carving out the landscape in the south side creates wells of light, and at the same time, offers more enclosed areas to escape the winds.

Our goal was to combine a high-end experience with the idyllic approach to a building that merges naturally into nature. With natural materials, and sensitivity to the land, we are able to seamlessly incorporate elements of luxury that results in a place that offers freedom and spaciousness.

Light glass structures pop up on the land in a thoughtful extension of the clinic and resort. MAYR is a program that articulates itself through the landscape, and seeks to increase harmony not simply between place and plan, but more importantly, the people who interact with the place.

Client: Greenstreet
Size: 22 350 sqm
Program: pre-diagnosis and hotel rooms
Completed: 2017
Design scope: architecture
Design team: Wendy Saunders, Vincent de Graaf, Diane Wang, Jaime Fernandez Rosa, Nicolas Herrgott, Echo Zhong, Sophia Wang, Arpad Bercek, Judy Wang, Jiaoyan