Project Commissioner

Deqing Yulong Tourism Development Co. Ltd. Moganshan, China

Project Creator

Stylus Studio

Project Overview

With the design DNA to mimicry the unspoiled Moganshan’s element: forests of bamboo and pine, mountains studded with rising clouds, lakes and waterfalls and picturesque tea farms, Stylus Studio is lauded for creating an unexpected hotel experience using expected natural materials locally.

Team

Lead Interior Designer: Simon Zeng, Vincent Zhang Architecture Design: Jade + Q&A Architects, Martin Jochman, Kiona Qing W. Clients: Deqing Yulong Tourism Development Limited, Shengqing Dai, Jiafeng Sun Construction: Zhejiang Kunlun Construction Group Limited Lightnings Design: Chiling Chen Structure Design Development: Nanjing Tech University, Xiaowu Chen, Xiaonuan Sun Other Participates: Yiqiu Wang, Shunfei, Mo, Limei Zhang, Xiaokang Chen, Guijin Ma, Wei Xu, Jian Zhang, Jiangpu Li, wei Lu

Project Brief

The mountainous area of Moganshan remains unspoiled; a stunning backdrop of bamboo and pine forests, mountains studded with rising clouds, lakes, waterfalls, and picturesque tea farms. It was nature’s vernacular that inspired the design concept for Joe Lalli Resort Hotel, from the outside in. An unconventional take of the wildness has been ingeniously implemented into all parts of the hotel for the guests to discover.

Project Need

With the surrounding area crowed with luxury villas and stylistic Airbnb, we are determined to create a different experience to differentiate Joe Lalli from the rest. With Joe Lalli Resort Hotel named after the legendary landscape architect Joseph J. Lalli. We show great respect to Lalli’s legacy by seamlessly connecting the built environment to the natural environment in both reverent and revolutionary ways hence the uniqueness of the interior of the hotel.

“Artistic expression is inventing, experimenting, growing, and taking risks. It is about design, colour, texture, shape and proportion. Everything we do has all those elements”
—Joseph J. Lalli

Partnering with architects Jade + Q&A, together we found inspiration in the raw materials, textures, and colors native to Moganshan, in the design narrative we also allocating historical references to the space.
For example, we preserved the tea drinking ritual by creating the hotel lobby lounge as a tea bar. Seated area is cleverly separate by enlarged tea leaves with bamboo carving. Guests can enjoy a cup of tea in privacy like the local tea farmers. At a late night, the hunting tales inspired bar is the place to go where ironically hunting is not legal anymore in the area, yet it is still part of Moganshan culture.

Stylus Studio’s meaningful design moves every sense by harmonizing nature and technology, and Asian sensitivities with international aesthetics to deliver a hotel with a strong but highly considerate identity.

Design Challenge

The unique use of material
The intention of the interiors was to create an unexpected experience of the heaven like mountain range using conventional materials. One of the challenges lay in effortlessly connecting floors within a large atrium in an equally worshipful and organic way that would be respectful to Joe Lalli’s design philosophy. The resulting ethereal mountain clouds staircase, bamboo fin pendant, and water feature all work together to intensify one’s appreciation of the beauty found in the local environment.

While we tried our very best to use only natural materials within the hotel, safety must come first. In the case of the featured “bamboo cloud” staircase, fire safety restrictions obviously prevented the use of a pure bamboo construction. It is often said that constraints encourage creativity, and the continuous ‘bamboo’ staircase came to life with glass-reinforced gypsum (GRG) technique and with the help of local artist who hand painted bamboo patterns on the surface.

Creating a space that appreciate the surrounding
With the design DNA a mimicry of the surrounding area, the ballroom and lobby lounge both reinterpret the tea flower indigenous to Moganshan. The ballroom lighting modernizes the traditional Chinese chandelier approach, while allowing for spectacular control and variation to suit all types of celebration events.

With the supreme site right next to a pond, the hotel location has more to give. Having this in mind, we used full height windows for the ballroom allowing the changing colors of the day to reflected back in for all to enjoy even when staying inside the hotel. This enhance the connection of the hotel to the natural surrounding hence extended the limited interior space.

Sustainability

“With respect to Joe Lalli (and his mastery in the creative play of texture, shape and proportion), our design solution takes conceptual cues from this design ethos, the architecture and the natural environment of Moganshan. With great imagination we distorted scale and form of natural materials such as bamboo, stone and local flora to meaningfully blur the boundaries between exterior and interior.”
—Simon Zeng, lead designer

While the design must obviously seek to attract guests to the hotel, Stylus Studio always considers the heritage of a place and it’s people, and therefore the people of Moganshan are our indirect clients.
Beyond the dramatic and breath-taking beauty of the interiors, 95% of the materials supplied come from within an 800km radius of the site. Local subcontractors with superior skill in crafting these materials were also employed, along with local artisans who created one-of-a-kind art installations. We are proud to say this brought positive financial sustenance to this rural area.

Other passive sustainability elements such as the open ceiling for maximizing use of natural sunlight, sun shading protection to reduce indoor temperature, and green roofs for added insulation are also part of our commitment to reduce the use of electricity by limiting artificial lighting and the need for temperature control.
Joe Lalli Resort Hotel’s interiors are successful in respecting the foundations: balancing the origins of the place and its people with future needs.