Bronze Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2024
Longhu Hotel Design
by Fei Hu
- A' Design Award 2024 Bronze Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- CLIENT: Fei Hu
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 14,289
- Verification code C54DB84B36 · Verify this award
About Longhu Hotel Design
Hotels need to be local, open, and inclusive. The designer was inspired by the dragon and phoenix, a traditional Chinese mythological animal. The walls are made of curved beige marble and copper panels, the shape symbolizing the flying posture of the dragon. The crystal chandelier on the ceiling is an abstract representation of the shape of a phoenix. The whole space presents a sense of organic flow. This also reflects the respect and inheritance of culture.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Located in Zhengzhou, the largest city in central China, Longhu Hotel caters to guests attending international conferences, as well as hosting conferences and banquets.
Inspired by the Jade Dragon, an ancient work of art from the Zhengzhou Museum in China, the building is shaped like a jade dragon, which inserts itself into the site in a calm and linear volume, like a jade dragon lying on the shore of Dragon Lake. The interior design uses architectural techniques to introduce the concept of jade dragon into the interior.
The hotel lobby breaks through the traditional hotel space form, using abstract techniques to express the shape of dragons and phoenixes, so that guests can integrate into the environment and feel the atmosphere of the building. - Dimensions & Packaging
- The hotel has 9 floors and 452 rooms. The building height is 39.2 meters, the highest point is 47.3 meters, and the building area is 58,375 square meters.
The building area of the first floor is 10,786m ², the second floor is 6960m ², the third floor is 6804m², and the fourth floor is 5058m². Among them, the lobby area of the first floor is 650m², the lobby bar area is 230m², the hotel ballroom area is 1800m², the all-day restaurant area is 720m², the standard room area is 45m².
The lobby has a 26.8-meter high atrium. - Tags
- Modern, culturally specific, warm, cavernous
- Production Technology
- The ultra-thin marble slabs with a thickness of only 2MM can greatly reduce the construction cost and construction process difficulty, and these marble slabs can be selected from natural materials or artificial materials.
- Design Challenge
- The biggest difficulty of this project is that the lobby has a 20-meter-high atrium space, which is huge in scale. The sheer size makes the space more like a shopping mall than a hotel. So how to make the space feel comfortable is a big challenge. Our approach is to create the feel of a cave by adding curved walls, which can greatly reduce the sense of emptiness, while combining the characteristics of the dragon and phoenix that represent traditional culture to give spirit to the space.
- Project Duration
- Design of the project began in March 2022, formal construction began in June 2023, and it is expected to be completed in Zhengzhou, China, by the end of 2025.
- Operation Flow
- The interior design uses architectural techniques to introduce the concept of jade dragon into the interior. Guests of the hotel enter the lobby as if they had arrived at an art gallery, surrounded by curved matte marble stone walls and curved copper panel walls, and on the left and right sides of the lobby, two luminous cylindrical installations made of fabric and acrylic, like two large wall lamps, guide guests into the lobby bar or dining room. The crystal lamp hanging from the ceiling looks like a flying phoenix. Guests can talk or rest in the lobby, which is full of warm and quiet atmosphere. The design integrating technology, culture, art and regional culture will also bring guests an unforgettable and artistic experience.
- Research
- We studied a lot of cases, repeatedly looking for the most suitable design approach. The concept phase alone took us at least six months. It is necessary to meet the demands of the owners for the embodiment of traditional culture, but also to meet the needs of the hotel management for the style and atmosphere of the hotel. Many times, their demands are contradictory, and we need to keep coming up with new ideas to find common ground. This draft plan is probably the best fit to the design requirements so far.
- Inspiration
- The dragon and the phoenix are auspicious mythical creatures in the ancient Chinese imagination, with the dragon representing masculinity and the phoenix symbolizing femininity. The harmonious display of dragons and phoenixes also symbolizes wealth, prosperity and good luck. The exterior is inspired by the form of Jade dragon, the interior integrates the essence of jade phoenix, and the internal and external elements are unified, reflecting the unity of heaven and man.
Colors of Longhu Hotel Design
Design Interview about Longhu Hotel Design
Dragons and phoenixes are mythical creatures of the ancient Chinese imagination, symbolizing good luck. The dragon represents male energy, while the phoenix symbolizes female energy. Harmony between the dragon and phoenix also symbolizes wealth, prosperity and good luck. The exterior of the building is inspired by a jade sculpture in the form of an ancient dragon, while the interior design incorporates elements of a flying jade phoenix. This kind of external and internal unity reflects the ancient Chinese philosophy of the unity of heaven and man.
Guests of the hotel enter the lobby as if they have arrived at an art gallery, surrounded by curved matte marble stone walls and curved copper panels, guests can chat or rest in the lobby, which is filled with a warm and quiet atmosphere. The design that integrates technology, culture, art and regional culture will also bring guests an unforgettable art experience.
Let's hope it gets built.
about 2-3 months.
The owner had a very vague concept and needed me to find the most appropriate element among a large number of cultural elements.
To express Oriental culture with modern means, especially the special aesthetic thought of Zen, is the direction I have been pursuing.
Tadao Ando and Rafael Moneo are my favorite architects.
The huge space formed by large-scale curved marble has a kind of utopian fantasy.
Hand sketching and 3D modeling software.
Use minimalist materials to create fantastic effects.
And my professional technical team.
Technology is the basis on which concepts can be implemented.
Study and research a large number of hotel cases. Trying to be totally different from them.
Cost and construction techniques are my biggest challenges.
I wish more people could see it.
Stick to your direction, and it will surely yield satisfactory results.
Grand Interview about Longhu Hotel Design
The shape of the building comes from a 3,200-year-old dragon jade carving, which simulates the scene of the jade dragon lying on the lake in an abstract shape, modern without losing its cultural connotation. The interior design continues the architectural technique, introduces the concept of dragon and phoenix into the interior, and expresses the scene intention of dragon and phoenix dance by abstract means, which is not only the invisible implantation of culture, but also the refining and inheritance of traditional culture. When hotel guests enter the lobby, they feel like entering a huge dream space. The walls are curved marble stone walls and copper panels up to 26.8 meters high, and giant crystal lights on the ceiling look like a flying phoenix hovering in the sky. The whole space is a visually stunning art museum. Full of modern and artistic atmosphere. At the same time rich in cultural and regional characteristics.
Generally speaking, marble processing into curved because of large losses and expensive, we have the responsibility to find solutions for the owners, fortunately, there is a supplier said that they have ultra-thin stone production technology, stone can bend like wood, which just completely solved our two problems: cost and technology. Because the stone is thin, it can be glued to the base of the board like the wood decoration panel. This material is almost tailor-made for our project. This is a typical case of materials creating new aesthetic effects. A forward-looking approach to the use of materials is demonstrated.
We are always working on how to balance the expression of traditional cultural heritage with the functional needs of a modern hotel. If the elements of the dragon and phoenix are simply borrowed from the specific form, they will walk into the trap of stereotypes. This time our focus shifted from figurative to abstract, from the dragon's flying posture to find our source of inspiration: the specific form of the dragon did not appear, but the dragon's figure is everywhere, which is the effect we want.
Phoenix is often seen in ancient Chinese mythology along with light and fire. The scenes it appears in are always very gorgeous. But few artists think about this when they extract elements of the phoenix. We felt that the image of the phoenix and the lighting installation were naturally intrinsically connected, and we wanted the shadow of a shining, crystal-clear bird to appear in the sky, just as we did with the dragon: it did not appear, it was everywhere.
International conference participants and international guests are often unfamiliar with local cultural traditions, if the direct transfer of these ancient artistic images into the space, often make guests feel abrupt and confused, which is in conflict with the hotel's welcome concept for guests, so our principle is imperceptible implantation of traditional culture, rather than blunt display.
Most of the hotels are too sophisticated and commercial, and the hotels with artistic style and cultural heritage are always valuable and impressive, so it is not a difficult choice.
This is the most difficult part of the whole design, we have been repeatedly suffering from collapse and hope. So many times we wanted to quit, but we stuck with it. Maybe we love the future of this project too much.
The atrium of the hotel is a huge stone wall up to 26 meters high, if there is no one or several particularly shiny lighting devices or lighting effects in such a large space, the whole space will become dim and lifeless. In short, just like a cave, if you want it to be warm, you need a torch or a bonfire, and these glowing columns are the torches or bonfires in a cave. They make the space warm and inviting.
This is a very good question, but the good thing is that there is so much room for the dragon and phoenix elements to play, and there are so many stories about them in history and cultural traditions. So, it's not as hard as it looks. We have a constant stream of material.
As the reviewer said, we hope it will be an example of a work that challenges traditional hotel design norms and pays homage to a rich cultural heritage. Hotel space is not only a simple accommodation, allowing guests to immerse in a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere while feeling the charm of culture and historical memory, should become one of the future development models of high-quality hotels in China and even the world. Connecting time, the world and art with design is the true value of design.