A group of disused farm houses in the rustic mountains of China’s Yangshuo County have been converted into a beautiful boutique eco-resort. The project has proven so unique that it has just been announced as a winner of a coveted award for architecture.
Announced today, the XY Yunlu Hotel was named the hospitality building of the year in the 2019 Dezeen Awards under the category of architecture. Now in its second year, the Dezeen Awards received over 4500 entries from more than 80 countries in 2019. Created by Shanghai studios Ares Partners and Atelier Liu Yuyang, the Yun House eco-resort is located in a village in China’s Guangxi region, a popular tourist destination set in the Li River Valley.
The project saw 23 guest rooms being created inside the nine farmhouses, with the design taking special attention that the hotel keeps in character with the rest of the village. A brand new building was also created to house a restaurant, bar and reception area. It was built with a steel frame and a long sliding glass front, with an internal wall made from stone blocks.
"Taking on a sensitive approach to the local culture, with villagers still living nearby, the overall planning and landscape design blends into the original village structure without creating new boundary conditions," Helen Wang of Ares Partners told Dezeen.
The farm buildings were constructed using rammed-earth bricks, restored to fit in with the look of the surrounding village. The rooms in the guest houses have been arranged around a communal area, while the original earth walls also remain prevalent alongside materials like timber, bamboo, steel and concrete. Timber beams and doors were refurbished and reused whenever possible.
Alongside XY Yunlu Hotel, other category winners included the Rong Cultural Centre in Iran which won the title of cultural building of the year, the Room for Archaeologists and Kids in the Iranian desert which was named small building of the year and the LocHal Library in the Netherlands which was named rebirth project of the year.
More information is available at the official Dezeen website.
