huaxi hotel

Huangshan, China-2016
Huaxi Hotel was a project proposed to bridge the gap between the more modern Huangshan city and its old town, where traditional Hui buildings punctuate the landscape.

The city is already a popular tourist destination, with literally millions of people flocking to Yellow Mountain each year.

Our vision was an iconic hotel destination for visitors, and a bold statement that puts Huangshan on the design map.

Duality in scale and feeling is key. The plot is surrounded on three sides by water, the U-shaped floor plan ensures the space receives excellent light and great views over the city.

Huangshan is a UNESCO heritage site, and a city with deep connection to arts and literature. Over 20,000 poems alone have been written about this city. It is a place that evokes strong feelings from its inhabitants and visitors.

The big volume sets the tone visually from a far. But at the same time, walking alongside the building, it is broken down in smaller pieces – a more delicate, relatable human size that offers visitors an opportunity to engage with the building on different levels. These smaller commercial spaces, a yacht club and dock connected to the hotel attract outside visitors as well.

When imagining a hotel like this, it was important to represent the city’s rich history and traditions, to give both the place and its visitors a sense of grounding, and then stoke the imagination. The external façade, made of translucent white glass, illuminates the night, like a faraway ship on the sea.

A wooden deck wraps around the inner façade, while a private garden is elevated on an upper deck. This interior contains a warmth that serves as extension of the natural beauty that surrounds the land. Seen like a wooden curtain, it take its inspiration from traditional Chinese street facades.

Serviced by an underground parking, the hotel would connect the new tourist center and retail streets positioned at the city side of land, making it a convenient and easily accessible spot.

Client: China Profile Real Estate
Size: 20 000 sqm
Program: 192-keys boutique hotel, city tourist center, riverside promenade, 2 retail streets, yacht club
Competition:2016
Design scope: master planning, architecture & interior
Design team: Wendy Saunders, Vincent de Graaf, German Roig, Diane Wang, Jaime Fernandez Rosa, Arpad Bercek, Echo Zhong, Sophia Wang, Judy Wang, Jiaoyan