YunLu Resort
Awarded with the Silver Medal at the Domus Prize for Restoration and Conservation 2016.
The Yun Lu (Cloud House) is a boutique eco-resort nestled within a village between Guilin and Yangshuo and situated along the dramatic landscape of the Li River. The site consists of five renovated historical farm houses and one new addition which functions as a restaurant and the main gathering space for hotel guests. Taking on a sensitive approach to the local culture with villagers still living nearby, the overall planning and landscape design worked into the original village structure without creating new boundary conditions to the villagers.
The rammed earthed buildings were retrofitted to accommodate refreshing and uncompromisingly contemporary living, while the new restaurant addition adopts an understated presence with the use of steel frame, glass pivot doors and windows, in contrast with the locally sourced rough-cut stone blocks, charcoal treated wooden louvres and terra-cotta roof tiles to provide a rich tactile experience. The spatial dialogue and sense of continuity between the old and the new buildings maintain a order of symbiosis between the foreign (hotel) and the local (village).
