The MOLEWA International Design Competition invited proposals for part of the Flower Ocean/Huayan Township Masterplan in Jiangxi Province, China. Our design, the “Living Pods in the English Garden”, was a three-star, 286 bedroom hotel with a total floor area of 10,500sq m.
Our concept brought a traditional English garden to the hotel, placing it at the heart of the development. The idea of bringing this approach to China with a series of oak trees and English rose flowers raised some fundamental technical issues, such as how to preserve the plants from the high humidity and the sub-tropical climate within the region.
The design team’s solution consisted of a sculptural lattice screen, made of timber, glass and floral inspired shading, to wrap the entire southern façade of the building. This forms a controlled environment atrium which acts as another ‘room’ of the hotel which could be used all year round as a multi-function event space.
The elevational treatment was derived from the ‘foxglove’ flower which inspired the transformation of the bedroom “pods” with its tall spires of long tubular bells from flower rooms to hotel rooms.