Intro

For this project we used Chinese character 井 (meaning well for water) as a structure，a decoration and a landscape. We imagined looking up at the sky from a well, and feeling the light flood in.

The project located in Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi province, an area famous for its mountains and rivers, full of natural resources. The foundation of the building is a 1980’s residential house. The typical 6-storey structure, narrow and deep, the adjacent buildings connected on both sides. This structure allows light to enter only from the back, front and roof. To increase light in the central of the building, we removed the central floor area from 2nd to 6th floors. This draws the light down from the atrium so even the first floor shares the sunlight. We lightened the exterior wall with white waterproof paint. And using the character 井 (well) as the concept, we arranged wooden strips and aged wood boards vertically on the building façade along with some lights as decoration.

The whole space is divided into guest room area and casual area. We set up the first floor like a home living room away from the city, to make the hotel guest feel like arriving back at their own home. The lobby is bathed in sunlight from the French windows. The backyard and patio bar are where guests can relax and truly enjoy their vacation time.