Project: Dongmingshan Senyu Hotel
Architecture: GLA Architects
Location: Hangzhou, China
Area: 1300 m2
Year: 2024
Photo Credits: Chen Xi Studio
Nestled within a verdant landscape of metasequoias and bamboo groves in Hangzhou, China, the Dongmingshan Senyu Hotel by GLA Architects spans 1,300 m² and offers an immersive escape completed in 2024. Moreover, it comprises a reception center and three cabin typologies—each carefully sited to preserve the forest’s integrity while inviting guests to truly live among the trees.
Subtle Design on a Sensitive Site
Firstly, rather than clear the land, GLA treated the site as a “minimally invasive surgery.” Consequently, no trees were felled; instead, architects mapped and skirted every root and trunk, adjusting designs in real time to avoid ecological disturbance. As a result, the hotel feels organically placed at the end of a mountain path beside a gently flowing stream.
A Reception Center in Dialogue with Nature
Secondly, the reception center retains the volume of an old wooden structure. Here, a grand south-facing window frames the forest, while north-facing clerestories draw bamboo light deep into the interior. Therefore, guests cross a literal and figurative threshold—transitioning from the outside world into a tranquil woodland sanctuary.
Dongmingshan Senyu Hotel exemplifies this ethos of integration, where architecture and ecology coalesce seamlessly to enrich the guest experience.
Pinecone Cabins: Flexible and Elevated
Meanwhile, the Pinecone Cabins perch above the forest floor on discrete supports, avoiding damage to roots. Inspired by the natural form of pinecones, their modular, tapering roofs echo the trees’ verticality. Consequently, each cabin adapts to its specific clearing, offering privacy without isolation.
Metasequoia Wood Cottages: Breathing with the Forest
Furthermore, the Metasequoia Wood Cottages stand on stilts to maximize airflow and minimize ground impact. Their double-pitched roofs mirror the canopy above, and skylights flood soaring interiors with shifting patterns of sun and breeze. Thus, guests remain connected to the forest’s rhythms even while sheltered indoors.
Bamboo Huts: Transparency and Adaptability
Finally, the Bamboo Huts line the forest edge, clad in woven bamboo screens that filter daylight and soften transitions. In addition, their visible steel frames promise future adaptability, demonstrating an architecture rooted in local materials yet open to evolution.
Ultimately, the Dongmingshan Senyu Hotel is not a monument to design, but a spatial response to nature’s mastery. By intervening sparingly—yet thoughtfully—GLA Architects have crafted a retreat where the forest, not the building, remains the star.
