Han-Gu Villa is a 72-room high-end resort hotel. This project is located in a beautiful 600-meter long valley running east-west. From the site, one can see one of the most precipitous sections of the Simatai Great Wall. The valley is surrounded by abundant original vegetation, with a small stream running through in the middle. In order not to destroy its natural ecology and terrain, as well as to optimize the views to the mountains afar, the architect decided, with the client’s consent, to keep the original landform and not to conduct any land formation works; the locations of the buildings will have to avoid touching the preserved tree and rocks, “tip-toeing” through the valley, as the architect puts it.
As the result, the buildings are scattered throughout the valley on stilts. The 8 clusters of guestroom units are carefully placed on the north and south side of the stream. Instead of common horizontal corridor circulation for the guestrooms, each of the 8 clusters has its own vertical circulation, and an open zigzag scenic bridge connects all of them following the creek. As they walk along on the elevated bridge, visitors are given optimal views of the Great Wall and the mountain landscape around the site. The scenic bridges overlap and crisscross the accommodation units and the creek, forming an interwoven dialogue between the man-made structures and the natural environment. The reception hall/club house is located at the west end of the site, acting as services and management facilities between the outside world and this secluded villa. On the exterior, Han-Gu Villa uses environmentally friendly composite wood with mixed natural wood color tones, echoing the constant change of sunlight and nature.
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