Xianghu Xiaoyao Manor / goa

Curated by 韩双羽 - HAN Shuangyu

Architects: GOA (Group of Architects)
Area: 126700 m²
Year: 2019
Interior Design: P49 Deesign & Associates Company Limited, HBA
Landscape Design: Suzhou Institute of Landscape Architecture Design, Dongwei Hou, Meiyun Yuan, Ying Zhang, Tianwei Xue, Jiankun Zhao

Text description provided by the architects. Xianghu Xiaoyao Manor, located in Xiang Lake Tourist Resort 20km away from downtown Hangzhou, extends to the water of the Xiang Lake in the west and connects with mountains in the northeast.

The site enjoys favorable natural landscape, but has a steep terrain, so the starting point of the design is to create a natural and relaxed hotel space in a place with significant mountainous characteristics.

The design drew on the spatial texture characteristics of rural villages in Zhejiang Province to build a complete elevation system along the mountain with the mountain stream as the east-west vein and the slope as the north-south vein, forming an organic continuum of mountainous community.

The public areas and main guestrooms of the hotel are arranged in the east of the site, where the gradually elevated height difference offers unblocked lake view and good privacy for various areas.

The north and south slopes and valleys in the west of the site are designed with independent suites. The cluster layout not only forms an internal courtyard, but also establishes a diversified pedestrian system. The Nourishing Club is located in the northernmost, and enjoys multi-layer and multi-perspective views.

The construction basically inherits the rural practice of this region to improve architectural quality through integration of placeality, tradition and modernity in a “new-local” style in combination with modern techniques and usage requirements.

Different techniques are employed for different blocks of buildings in façade design. The public area, independent suite area and Nourishing Club in the east use traditional garden style for reference, while the small-sized guestrooms in the valleys shape the image of Jiang-Nan residence in regions south of the Yangtze River.