Houhai hotel is located at NO.10 Liuyin Street, about 200 metres away from Houhai. It is said that this was originally a three-entry courtyard, and it was divided into three different landlords for unknown reasons. We just rented one of them, the whole area is around 280 square meters. It still maintains a good layout of the courtyard—introverted space and the staggered eaves, which lets you immediately feel the charm of Beijing traditional culture.

This is Yuangu‘s first hotel and the sample which is carried too many expectations. The plan of the yard is formed into a U-shape, which encloses the surrounding wall. We plan to design four guest rooms and a dessert space. Although the function is not complicated, the limited area is a question. A small reception is necessary at the entrance. Next, it is guest room. Further inside is the hotel‘s functional space. The toilets and storage room are separated from the guest rooms. There are two VIP tea rooms, which is not only used as a dessert space, but also for small meetings, salons and exhibitions. The rest space is a shallow pond, a basement and a few ancient trees that make up the whole courtyard. The basement area is quite small and we build up a small house for increasing the efficiency of courtyard. That space is quite important, which is not only meets the needs of dessert space, but also effectively combines the basement with VIP room. The dormant windows of the building light up dark basement and provides unlimited warmth. Several ancient trees are standing quietly in the middle of the yard, as whispering and greeting. The shallow pond is our intention. Water is the spirit of all things, and with water our yard will have spirituality.

These three rooms have three different layouts, which offers customers three different hotel experiences. We used the largest area (back room) as our suite. Considered the height of house, we used tatami and mattress directly landed on floor to increase the sense of relaxation. The other three rooms are lined up on the left side, facing the view of the courtyard. After construction and decoration, each room is filed with natural light through the floor-to-ceiling windows and dormant windows. Even lying on the bed, you could also feel the sunbathing.

Project Team
Shuang Zhao, Dongjie Ma, Yanan Zheng, Minjian Li

Landscape Art Design
Xiangfeng Fu, Yuxuan Yang

Photography
Shuang Zhao