Jiahe Boutique Hotel is located in the east new town of Jiangyin, also by the Yushan Lake. The building area of the project is about 75,000 square feet. With a proper renovation, the designers successfully transformed the former office building into a boutique hotel with 50 guest rooms, 8 dining rooms, banquet halls, meeting rooms, and a swimming pool. Through this project, Shanghai Dushe Architecture Design Co.,Ltd has made an effort toward an integrated architecture, interior, and landscape design, which also demonstrates the persistent pursuit of quality from the designers.
Existing limitations must be considered the main difference between renovation projects and new projects. At the beginning, the owner put forward three requirements: assessing the possibility of transforming the existing building into a hotel, strict control of the investment, and no alteration of the façade (except in the entrance) under the planning rules. To provide a design that satisfies not only owners but also the designers themselves under a limited investment is an eternal task for designers.
The space was reformed by a completed steel structure through maximizing the use of the existing structure. Through the professional suggestions from the electromechanical engineer, part of the original equipment keeps its utilization. For the new function, the logistics flow has been redesigned, and some reasonable arrangements have been made to meet the requirements of the hospitality management combining the existing conditions. Through a series of specific design strategies and proposals, a mutually satisfying plan has laid a solid foundation based on the control of the investment. In response to the “no alternation” policy of the façade, a suggestion was to make the necessary renovation to the entrance. The original design couldn’t meet the functional requirements of a drop-off zone and the original feature was not capable of satisfying the unique atmosphere of a boutique hotel. Above all, the land area has potential to be reconstructed.
The landscape, interior, and architectural space of the building have provided constant sensory stimulations to the guests from the moment they ride or walk into the hotel area, to their entering the lobby. The integrative design of the hotel starts from the entrance area in concept, but is not confined to the main building of the hotel; the integration of the three is emphasized. In the design of the entry sequence for the Jiahe Boutique hotel, the "nature trail" feelings are extracted from the landscape in order to create a unique visual environment and sequential spatial experience for the guests.