Dongshan West Bay Resort

Fujian, China

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Dongshan West Bay Resort

Fujian, China

Firm

Protoscapes

Type

Hospitality + Sport › Hotel

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2025

SIZE

25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft

Dongshan Island, located at a crucial coastal crossroads in southern Fujian, has long been a hub for thriving aquaculture. The Dongshan West Bay Resort is sited on a decommissioned pier once home to Qianlou Town's historic fishery center. The project re-imagines the former site of fishing warehouses as a coastal sanctuary, immersing its guests in the maritime geography and the panoramic seascape of southern Fujian. As Dongshan Island’s first diving-themed resort, the project is a cornerstone of the fishing town’s revitalization, pioneering a 'tourism + sports' model that diversifies the local economy beyond its traditional roots.

The design navigates the challenge of a compact site by arranging two L-shaped volumes to create a sheltered courtyard configuration, protecting a central gathering space from the hot summer afternoon sun and the harsh prevailing hibernal winds from the east. 31 hotel suites and F&B areas are positioned along the southwestern coastline, ensuring that each room captures panoramic views of the sea and the sunsetting horizon. To the northeast, a nautical-themed commercial arcade animates the street front, weaving the project into the commercial and social fabric of the village.

Departing from the conventional practice of seafront privatization, the hotel invites the entire community to experience the coastline through a series of multi-tiered, open-air viewing platforms. A public boardwalk weaves along the project’s perimeter, providing both residents and visitors shared access to the stunning sea views, effectively redefining the relationship between the coastal hotel and the surrounding community.

The building’s facade draws inspiration from the rhythmic forms of the seascape. At ground level, a continuous arcade—reminiscent of the island’s sea-eroded caves—acts as a series of viewfinders to the ocean, guiding the public to engage with the ocean through their senses. Evoking the silhouette of local peaks, curvilinear triangles punctuate the hotel’s corridor walls, flooding hallways with northeastern light while directing gaze toward the distant mountain ranges. From a distance, the undulating skyline and sinuous balcony profiles echo the tides of the Pacific. On the northeastern side, a 24-meter diving tower is clad in a curved, perforated aluminum panel system, its rippling texture dissolving the monumentality of the pool’s concrete structure. Elongated oculus windows, reminiscent of submarine portholes, frame panoramic views towards the horizon.

By re-imagining industrial remnants as a public haven, the Dongshan West Bay Resort revitalizes a once-dormant coastline, transforming the island’s southwest edge into a new destination for ecological tourism and a renewed gateway into the Pacific. More than just hospitality, the hotel serves as a tectonic interface between land and sea, channeling the region’s maritime geography into a rich architectural experience.