The Crafting of Oriental Hospitality: Hangzhou Grand Hyatt’s Transformation for the 2016 G20 Summit
Containing Astonishing Landscape through Silk-like Patterns: Hangzhou Hyatt has a U-shaped layout embracing view towards the lake. To accommodate four world leaders during the 2016 G20 Conference, Hyatt Hotel set out to upgrade its two presidential suite decks, VIP terrace, and ground level lakeside promenade adjacent to West Lake. Suzhou and Hangzhou have historically been China’s most prosperous core. The economic wealth passed down through many generations attributed to the city’s cultural delicacy and persisting pursuit of lifestyle. Our overall landscape strategy is inspired by the rich cultural heritage of the city and its layered natural environment.
Guiding Guests’ Views through Landscape Layers towards West Lake’s Spirited Scenery: Since the team’s first site visit and experiencing the sense of being in between the foreground lake, background mountain and the hotel interior, we realized that our design will ultimately become the interface and framing of the lake and the hotel interior. Inspired by delicate tea ware that holds the jade-green West Lake Longjing tea, the exquisite yet simple linear adobe texture informs the concept which is physicalized through our design to embrace the rooftop planters. The eye-level view beyond curvilinear planters will then reach the enfolding lake and jade green tree lines across.
Garnering Timeless Languages from Heritage to Juxtapose with West Lake: An Astonishing Landscape Landmark: Juxtaposed against the plants’ varying jade green, the gradient grey-toned tiles and varying textures in South Yangtze region provide contrast. To echo the region’s characters, our selection of hardscape materials ranges from snowy white to murky black, in conjunction with chiseled or fired textures, created multiplayer surface textures and colorations. The curvilinear strokes on the plan resembles that of the stoneware; all the surface tiling follows a rigorous process of waterjet cutting, labeling, and assembling from setting out, manufacturing and installation – a challenge of the sub-constrictor under the tight construction schedule. As adjacent buildings and planting troughs have curved edges, on-grade stone pavement is of a modular pattern, so that the scattered grey gradient is restructured and realized in a different manner. The edges of the paving then vanish naturally below the edges of curvilinear walls.
Lakefront Loggia: Upgrading and Showcasing Local Culture: Hyatt also contributed to the public experience by upgrading the lakeside promenade. Design of this lakefront interface utilizes a special landscape element: the “Loggia,” to enable historic reflection and cultural exhibition (a design requirement, see Note 1), while being recreationally inhabited by the urban population.
A Design that Co-exists and Blends into the Lake and Lakefront Promenade: Upon understanding user’s requirements and patterns, the team proposed a simple yet elegant design that fulfills the requirement to exhibit sculptures within, whilst inconspicuously coexist with surrounding tree and shrub plantings. The staggering columns provide a space that provides more visual openness and flow. During the day, the trellis merges with the pavement and lush plantings in a low-profile manner, allowing patterned shadows to add layers to pavement patterns and aspiring to be a timeless design befitting to urban dwellers’ daily lives. At night, embedded LED lighting not only highlights the sculptural pieces, but also bring out the trellis’ profile, becoming a lakefront highlight from sunset to late night.
