Project: Huanglong Island Lighthouse Hotel
Architecture: WJ STUDIO
Principal Designer: Hu Zhile
Design Team: Jin Yiran, Yang Xi, Liu Yu’ao, Huang Shufei
Construction Company: Shanghai Yeyouzhu
Location: Zhoushan, China
Area: 5000 m2
Year: 2025
Photo Credits: Tian Fangfang, Zhang Xi
Lost Villa · Huanglong Island Lighthouse Hotel, designed by WJ STUDIO, anchors itself in the northeastern Zhoushan Archipelago of Zhejiang Province, China. The project responds to challenges such as limited transportation and rural depopulation by transforming local topography and village spaces into a destination for island-based ecological tourism. In doing so, the hotel balances natural heritage, cultural identity, and human experience.
Origin and Site Context
The story of the project began five years ago when the design team embarked on tourism development in Shengsi County. Reaching the island still requires extensive ferry and road travel, making accessibility a challenge. However, this remoteness shaped the design concept, highlighting the need for architecture that offers meaningful, immersive experiences rather than quick efficiency.
Huanglong Island, once vibrant with families and schools, now struggles with depopulation as younger generations leave. The design acknowledges this demographic reality and aims to reintroduce vitality by creating a hub where tourism and local culture meet.
The Three Dimensions of Time
The concept for Lost Villa · Huanglong Island Lighthouse Hotel unfolds through three dimensions of time.
Natural time highlights the island’s dramatic reefs, dense shrubs, and seasonal fog. These natural conditions inspired the placement of the hotel on Dongjutou Village’s northeastern promontory, where the rugged topography creates dramatic elevation changes.
Historical time reflects the enduring wisdom of stone villages, terraced dwellings, and narrow pathways. The design integrates these elements into modern planning by redefining circulation routes while maintaining continuity with traditional spatial forms.
Human time emphasizes the visitor’s sensory journey. Walking from the harbor through village paths to the lighthouse, guests encounter framed views, textured landscapes, and architectural sequences that make the experience of time tangible.
Form and Spatial Strategy
The architecture of Lost Villa · Huanglong Island Lighthouse Hotel adapts to the site’s reefs and steep slopes. Two main building groups, linked by a descending outdoor walkway, echo the rhythm of village clusters. The design employs a sequence of “hidden–peek–open” spaces that alternate between interior and exterior, mirroring the exploratory nature of island travel.
Block A centers around a vast rock hall where preserved reef stones form the foundation. Sunlight filtering through skylights animates the rugged textures, dissolving boundaries between built space and natural formations.
Block B reinterprets village layouts with guest room clusters oriented to capture seasonal sunrises. Clean windows frame ocean views, inviting light, breeze, and sound into the interiors. Each pause before these vistas extends the experience of human time, creating a sense of continuity with nature.
Materiality and Atmosphere
Materials reinforce the balance between tradition and modernity. Yellow brick, stone, and polycarbonate articulate the volumes, while isolated foundations suspend built forms above reefs to reduce weight and preserve site character. Distressed surfaces and minimal detailing echo the textures of the island while enabling durability.
Conclusion
Lost Villa · Huanglong Island Lighthouse Hotel embodies a dialogue between past, present, and future. By weaving natural topography, historic settlement patterns, and immersive human-scale experiences, the project reframes rural decline as an opportunity for sustainable, experiential tourism. Ultimately, Lost Villa · Huanglong Island Lighthouse Hotel demonstrates how architecture can revitalize both place and memory in the face of change.
