KUSH HOTEL / Hong Kong

The building is located in one of the oldest districts in Hong Kong. The district offers a rich local culture and history. Old and compacted residential buildings, suspended neon-light shop signage, traditional trams, local dried-seafood shops and busy restaurants are seen almost everywhere within the neighborhood. Each of these elements provides a strong sense of local character and distinct identity. Recently, this old district is slowly undergoing an urban face-lift. Old buildings were demolished to give way for new and modern residential apartments and hotels. This new urban development creates interesting streetscapes to the neighbourhood with a strong juxtaposition of 'new versus old'.

The main challenge of this hotel development is to design a landmark hotel of Hong Kong, capturing particularly the spirit of the city and the lifestyle of its people, while also incorporating the rich and dynamic local culture and character the neighbourhood has to offer. The design approach is to abstractly translate the distinctive local elements from the urban context (such as bay windows, individual air-conditioning units at building facades, suspended neon-light shop signage, etc.) into a series of aesthetically eye-catching bay windows, which come in different degrees of projection and 'openness', thus creating a rich texture of shadow and delicate ornamentation on the vast surface in the day.

The internal layout is also carefully planned to accommodate the public entertaining facilities within the site context. Hotel restaurants, bars and swimming pool are all located on the top floor of the building overlooking the city harbour, thus creating an extraordinary city vibe/experience for visitors. Hotel rooms provide flexibility for guests who are seeking a short stay accommodation or long stay serviced apartments.

 

@architecture awards 2012

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