Project name: InterContinental Xi’an North
Developer: Xi’an Zhengze Industrial Development Co., Ltd.
Interior design firm: CCD / Cheng Chung Design (HK)
Construction firm: Shenzhen Cheng Chung Design Co., Ltd.
Location: Xi’an, China
Area: 34,000 m2
Completion time: August 2019
Text and photos provided by CCD
As a flagship hotel as well as the first InterContinental hotel in Northwest China, InterContinental Xi’an North is located in the CBD of Xi’an Economic & Technological Development Zone, where economy, politics, culture and commerce converge. Through adopting magnificent design languages, CCD reproduces and showcases the glory of Xi’an for thousands of years to guests around the globe.
Entrance
A long and twisting driveway leads to the entrance area, with majestic stone wall and lush greenery on the two sides. Gradually, a secluded urban garden reveals. An old pine tree erects on waterscape, which is a symbol of peace and friendship while also implying an inclusive character. Drawing on elements of ancient city gates of Xi’an, the 20 meter-wide canopy greets guests worldwide with a majestic posture.
Lobby
At the lobby, an 8-meter-high magnificent artwork comes into sight. By the use of 3D printing technology, it embodies the magnificent and undulating form of Qinling Mountains, one of the cradles of Chinese civilization.
Six 9-meter-high “city gates” are brought into the reception area, showing grandness and hospitality. Named after gates of Xi’an city wall – Yongning Gate, Changle Gate, Anyuan Gate, Anding Gate, Zhuque Gate and Yuxiang Gate, those structures carry the memory of the city in the past hundreds of years.
In addition, every “city gate” symbolizes a pass. Along the ancient Silk Road, envoys and merchants crossed passes one after another and stopped at lots of inns for a rest. In this process, Oriental and Western culture collided, communicated and integrated, thereby producing inclusive and diversified human civilization.
Lobby Lounge
The lobby lounge appears classical at the first glance, while novelty can be discovered when looking closely. New elements are added to the classical and elegant overall tone, with the turquoise and bright yellow furniture creating a modern touch. This area is elevated in a height of three steps, thereby forming an island which provides an open view to outdoor greenery.
COMMUNE— All-Day-Dining Restaurant
China brought silk, tea and porcelain to the West and introduced in exotic goods such as coffee and spices through the Silk Road. The design of the all-day-dining restaurant COMMUNE combines coffee which originates from the West with oriental hall structures, and presents the fusion of oriental and western civilization via modern approaches.
The front hall is a dessert & coffee bar, which is connected to the outdoors, together forming a community space. The outdoor canopy takes cues from the overhang of ancient rich families’ houses and is complemented with some stretched window hoods, thereby making the whole design more vivid and producing an aesthetic visual highlight in the community.
CAI FENG LOU— Chinese Restaurant
The Chinese restaurant CAI FENG LOU inherits Chinese people’ affection for birds. Traditional red hue, fur and other bird elements, as well as details featuring modern textures such as exquisite glass and elegant bronze lines, produce a classical oriental atmosphere for entertaining guests, which is warm yet elegant.
InterContinental Executive Club
Set at a higher level, the executive club also serves as a book bar for ladies and gentlemen. With a height of 8 meters, the book wall is a modern interpretation of ancient Chinese libraries. The flank wall is characterized by multiple layers, which look like books orderly stacked on shelves of ancient libraries and imply the spiritual pursuit of ancient and contemporary intellectuals. Leather buckles and metal elements are added to chairs, to create a feeling of being in a male luxury brand store and let the guests feel respected.
Char Bar & Grill
Char Bar & Grill is situated at the top floor of the InterContinental Xi’an North. It’s an upscale steakhouse brand of InterContinental. Currently, there are merely 6 Char Bar & Grill restaurants in China, and this is the only one in Northwest China. The space features large French windows, making it a perfect place to enjoy the outdoor view and an instagrammable destination.
As getting out of the elevator, guests will feel like they’ve passed through time and space and arrived at Western America from China’s Tang Dynasty. Plain timber, leather and bronze produce an American-style atmosphere. Unique folding doors are brought to the bar area, to create a futuristic feeling. The movement of doors is controlled based on mechanics of machinery. The structures can switch among doors, window or canopy freely.
Presidential Suites
As the door slowly opens, the overall open layout of presidential suite is unfolded. Here the guests can have a panoramic view to the outside.
Standard Rooms
Guest rooms are conceived based on the design concept of “Chang’an Mansion”. The floor is paved with unique pattern, to recreate the stone slab roads on ancient Chang’an (former name of Xi’an) streets and imply that guests walk on the floor slab road and then enter a traditional grand mansion in Chang’an. The spatial organization references to the layout of ancient mansions featuring three sequential courtyards, whilst also inheriting traditional ritual and etiquette of entering a house, so as to offer guests a living experience with a sense of ritual. The space adopts an elegant color palette, with large areas of walls highlighted by the green hue of Chinese jade, thereby revealing a sense of dignity and elegance.
Artworks InterContinental Xi’an North
Artworks open up an artistic journey, which guides guests to trace the origin of Chinese civilization.
“Tie”
The “tie” in the form of wooden carving indicates the fusion of the East and West, the past and present.
“Great Qinling”
With gaps in between, layers of timber generate an undulating form, which echoes the majestic Qinling Mountains and river waves.
Besides, the silhouettes of Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Small Wild Goose Pagoda and Drum Tower of Xi’an can be found in the subtly-composed wooden installation.
“Horses”
The artwork is mainly made of timber, complemented by glazing.
It consists of two horses.
One is large, the other is small.
One lowers the head, the other raises the head.
“Ancient Noble Ladies Playing Polo”
Noble Ladies in Tang dynasty ride on horses valiantly, seeming to pass a circular corridor of time.
“Reconfiguration”
There is no making without breaking.
White and blue ceramic fragments are configured, which generates new imagination and perspectives.
