NOTES
Lobby under suspended timber slats

Beijing, China

Chao Hotel

The hotel occupies a renovated building in a busy entertainment district. Its 180 rooms come in five types, all drawn from the idea of an animal’s nest.

The design works through layered spaces, using different materials, colours and elements to carry both the history of the building and the energy of the present. The renovation has since been held up as a model for reworking hotels.

Beyond the usual hotel functions, the building holds book walls, an underground exhibition hall and stages for exhibitions, receptions and events still to come. These bring culture and everyday life into the hotel and give it a public character.

Lighting was treated as part of the architecture. It answers the practical needs of a hotel while working with light and shadow to set the mood, so that moving through the building reveals small surprises in each detail.

Project Information

Design studio
gmp Architekten
Time
2016
Type
Hospitality, Renovation
Primary materials
Concrete, Glass, Natural timber, Steel
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The hotel tower above the street
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Entrance set into a dark recess
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Grand stair under the slatted ceiling
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Hall with a timber floor and dark columns
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Corridor of dark panels
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Stair beside the tall windows
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Event floor with linear lighting
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Wide stair under a dark ceiling
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Stair rail and slatted screen
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Hall with tall windows and a timber floor
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Restaurant under a coffered ceiling
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Restaurant booths under pendant lights
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Curved wall lit from below
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Narrow stair between dark walls
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Library wall with a long table
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Reading room lined with bookshelves
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Long corridor with grazing light
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Lounge beside the book wall
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Arched underground gallery lit in blue
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Ribbed vault of the gallery
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Curved stair with lit treads
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Lounge beside the curved stair
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Corridor with timber panelling
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Dining room under a light installation
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Faceted glass facade
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Guest room with cove lighting
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Guest room with a city view
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Guest room with a low bed
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Guest corridor with a patterned carpet
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Suite with a dining table
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Suite living area
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Bathroom with a long vanity
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Long table in a timber-lined room
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Stage hall with a timber floor
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Meeting room under round pendants
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Dark corridor with lit niches
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Existing structure during the renovation
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Stripped concrete floor before the fit-out
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design
Bare concrete frame
Credit: SHU He, GD-Lighting Design

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