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Architects: GLA Design
- Area: 1300 m²
- Year: 2024
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Photographs:Chen Xi Studio
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Manufacturers: Oriental Yuhong, Qiannianzhou, Teknos
"Minimally Invasive" Upland Design: Dongmingshan Senyu Hotel
Dongmingshan Senyu Hotel is located in a natural forest within the Dongmingshan Forest Park, with a dense cover of metasequoia and moso bamboo. The complex consists of a reception center and three types of detached guest rooms.
01 A "Minimally Invasive Surgery" - Venue
Through a long mountain trail, we come to a site embracing a murmuring stream flowing downstream and a dense metasequoia forest towering into the clouds, where a few shabby wooden houses are half-hidden. Faced with such a site, the designers insisted on maintaining the ecology with minimum intervention, and suggested making a "minimally invasive surgery" to the forest. Therefore, they adopted a softened architectural approach to make the design a harmonious part of the natural forest and protect the original appearance of the woodland to the maximum extent.
02 Immersing in "Forest Scene" - Reception Center
The reception center serves as the entrance to the project and is the most prominent part of the architectural intervention on the site. However, the designer still insists on the principle of dialog with nature when dealing with the form of the building. The reception center maintains the original volume of the building. The large floor-to-ceiling windows on the south side introduce the magnificent view of the sequoia forest into the interior while blocking the ramp. The upper windows on the north side allow the greenery of the moso bamboo forest to become a continuation of the interior space. The connectivity between the indoor and outdoor landscapes will enable visitors to feel surrounded by nature from the moment they enter the building, creating a strong sense of immersion.
03 "Modularization" Variable Space – Pinecone Cabin
The Pinecone Cabin is located in a sequoia forest with respect for nature as its priority. The designers skillfully avoided existing trees and adopted the form of a pine cone in their creation. The bottom of the building is raised to adapt to changes in the terrain, while the top shrinks to echo the way the trunks of the sequoia trees grow. Through modular combination, the Pinecone Hut can adapt to different site conditions and achieve efficient space utilization.
04 "Full View" Interior and Exterior Space - Metasequoia Wood Cottage
The Cedar Grove Cabin adopts a hammock building form with the bottom raised off the ground, effectively minimizing damage to the site and enhancing ventilation. This design not only helps to cope with the humid mountain environment but also reduces disturbance to wildlife such as snakes and insects. The double-sloped roof echoes the surrounding sequoia forest, and the high-ceilinged space inside the house introduces natural light through the skylight, allowing the occupants to feel the sunlight and the wind indoors as if they were in the forest.
05 "Modernization" Bamboo Element – A Bamboo Hut
Nestled at the edge of a bamboo forest, the Bamboo Hut has a simple architectural form with three square box-like buildings dominated by woven bamboo curtain walls. This modernized bamboo treatment not only echoes the natural environment of the site but also demonstrates the potential for future design adjustments and flexible adaptations through the exposed portion of the steel frame structure. The bamboo façade is visually light and airy, thus creating a unique light and shadow effect in the interior and exterior spaces.
Concluding Remarks
To ensure that the buildings fit perfectly in the dense forest, the designers have made repeated on-site explorations to confirm the location of each tree, and at the same time, adjusted the program immediately according to the actual situation during the construction process, so as to keep the site as it is to the largest extent and let the space and nature coexist in a harmonious way without removing one tree. We hope that every visitor to the Chalet Hostel can find a home to his or her own soul in the mountains and nature.
