Dawang Mountain Resort / Coop Himmelb(l)au

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One of Coop Himmelb(l)au's latest competition winning designs is the Dawang Mountain Resort near Changsha, China, a combination of an entertainment ice world with an indoor ski slope, a water park and supporting restaurant and shopping facilities. Positioned directly on top of a historical cement mining quarry pit and lake, this proposal aims to combine "striking landscape with ambitious design" in a way that could redefine the idea and aesthetics of recreation for the south-central Chinese city.

The Architects' Description:

Towards the South and East, the existing quarry pit is revealed and the sculpted shell of Coop Himmelb(l)au's Snow and Ice World spans 170 meters from cliff to cliff over a sunken and hanging garden that creates a new leisure space of islands, water, cliffside pathways and ramps connecting the building to its natural heritage. This unique framed open space in between architecture and landscape is characterized by an impressive central glass cone that provides controlled natural daylight down through the Ice World structure and on to the islands and water surfaces.

A cantilevered outdoor swimming pool is part of the Water Park attractions and creates a 60m high waterfall down into the quarry pit. From the inside the leisure functions of the Snow and Ice World engage the space of the quarry pit with views through large glass façades to the natural cliff faces and hanging gardens, as well as to the water pools and islands below. At the same time visitors walking or standing on the Cliffside Pathways can look into the building through the transparent façade, creating interactive visual contact with the interior of the Snow and Ice World. 

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A separate sculptural tower 100m high on the South end of the site hosts a 5 star hotel and is connected to the Ice World via the Grand Garden Plaza. Arriving from the city of Changsha over Pingtang Avenue, the Fashion Hotel Tower will be the most significant iconic landmark for the entire Dawang Mountain Tourism Resort Center. It offers 270 high-class suites all with impressive views to Tongxi Lake, Dawang Mountain and into the Ice & Snow World. A spacious central lobby around the tower core opens up into the service plinth containing a bar and restaurant on level one, flexible and multifunctional conference areas on level two and the fitness, spa and beauty facilities on level three.

The façade of the tower is a specially designed, highly economical system providing state-of-the-art sun shading, natural ventilation and a unitized, quick construction. The elemental façade system offers maximum flexibility for the interior room layout and creates a homogeneous exterior façade.

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• Architects

  Coop Himmelb(l)au

• Design Principal

  Wolf D. Prix

• Senior Project PartnerS

  Markus Prossnigg, Michael Volk

• Executive Coordinator

  Lei Feng

• Project Architect

  Angus Schoenberger

• Design Architects

  Quirin Krumbholz, Alexander Ott, Stephan Sobl

• Project Team

  Tyler Bornstein, Laura Ghita, Crystal K.H Tang, Xinyu Wan, Paul Challis, Veronika Janovska, Sorena Dumitru, Philipp Scherl, Donna Riedel, Edward Chang, David Neudecker, Jan Markus Ludwig, Halina Krzyzanowska, Phelan Heinsohn, Miguel Sanchez Enkerlin, Rymar Mateusz, Maxime Lefebvre, Simon Hiertz

• Graphic Design/ Presentation

  Jan Rancke, Tom Hindelang

• Structural Engineering

  B+G Ingenieure / Bollinger und Grohmann Gmbh, Prof. Klaus Bollinger

• MEP / HVAC

  Buro Happold Ltd, Bath,UK, Steve Macey(Competition Phase)

• Site Area

  120,000 m²

• GFA 5 Star Hotel

  60,000 m²

• Height 5 Star Hotel

  100m

• Depth of Pit

  60m

• Project Year

  2013

• Photographs

  Courtesy of COOP HIMMELB(L)AU

• Architects

  Coop Himmelb(l)au