Hotel South Taihu Resort Village

Hotel South Taihu Resort Village is an architecturally significant resort complex located in Huzhou City, China, exemplifying innovative mountain architecture through its harmonious integration with the natural landscape of Xiaomei Mountain. Completed in 2020, this Silver A' Design Award-winning project encompasses approximately 59,000 square meters and consists of 23 thoughtfully distributed buildings that seamlessly blend into the surrounding mountain forest. The design philosophy employs a horizontal stacking technique to conform to the mountainous terrain, which features a 45-meter elevation change from west to east. The resort's public areas are arranged in an L-shape configuration facing Taihu Lake, maximizing views while minimizing environmental impact. The architectural design demonstrates exceptional sensitivity to the site's historical and ecological context, incorporating local materials such as Taihu stone in its facade treatment, with granite arrangements and rubble materials creating a visual harmony with the mountain environment. The project's commitment to environmental preservation is evident in its careful retention of existing mature trees, including valuable specimens of camphor, michelia alba, albizzia, and pine, while implementing a darning construction method to restore areas requiring additional landscaping. The design features innovative elements such as a rimless landscape pool that creates an illusion of seamless connection between the lobby and Taihu Lake, while various enclosed and semi-enclosed courtyards throughout the complex facilitate natural light and ventilation. The resort's circulation system utilizes the existing mountain road network to minimize terrain disruption, while carefully planned pedestrian pathways, bridge decks, and steps create an engaging guest experience that celebrates the mountain setting.

Author: Adam Dawson

Keywords: resort architecture, mountain integration, sustainable design, luxury hospitality, landscape preservation, cultural heritage

SOURCES:
https://competition.adesignaward.com/135034

Help us improve the Design+Encyclopedia, contribute your alternative definition for Hotel South Taihu Resort Village today!

About the Design+Encyclopedia
The Design+Encyclopedia is a crowd-sourced reference of information on design. Unlike other crowd-sourced publications on design, the Design Encyclopedia is edited and actively monitored and publishing is only possible after review of submitted texts. Furthermore, editors of the Design Encyclopedia are mostly consisting of award winning designers who have proven their expertise in their design respective fields. Information posted at design encyclopedia is copyrighted, you are not granted a right to use the text for any commercial reasons, attribution is required. If you wish to contribute to the design encyclopedia, please first register or login to A' Design Award and then start a new design encyclopedia entry.