Organized into two phases, the first part of the hotel project contains 10 single-entry multi-entertainment courtyard buildings designed amongst classical Chinese architectural and landscape elements including streets, ancestral halls, stages, ponds, and stone bridges. Phase II organizes a composition of 119 single-story hotel villas of varying sizes and hotel support functions around an internal road network and water system that provides views of the outdoor landscape to each group of villas. The buildings themselves follow the aesthetic tradition of Chinese classical garden architecture where each space of the building transitions naturally to the next. The experience of the architecture in loggias, gables, awnings, and other quaint nodes provide visitors a historical perspective as they walk-through interior spaces and landscape corridors that arrive to intimate gardens.
To capture and reflect upon the historical and cultural context of the old village, the new hotel adopts traditional Chinese architecture which integrates the simple shape of Jiangnan dwellings with rich details. White-painted walls and tilework frequently seen in the south of the Yangtze River, is integrated with wood trim to convey and respect humanistic character, nature, and historical cultural style. A double-pitched roof which matches the traditional Xiaoqingwa of the southern style, hides the whole building group within the Jiangnan Water Village, creating a seamless integration between old and new, while keeping its historical features intact.
