Shaoxing Jinghu Hotel

Since the early Tang Dynasty, Shaoxing has been known throughout China for its silk production. This continuing legacy is the inspiration for bKL’s design of both the form and surface of this new 820 ft (250 meter) mixed-use hotel and apartment tower set on a downtown lake.

Glass, metal fabric and metal panels are woven into a skin that rolls and falls as a silk drapery. The resulting floor configuration provides southern exposure for all 260 serviced apartments and a unique expression for each hotel room tier. The building’s surface is a pattern of open, partial, and solid material inherently providing passive solar control.

The undulating tower’s skin lifts off the ground to reveal multi-story entry lobbies and cores. A luminous horizontal form encloses the hotel’s conference, meeting and business center; a ballroom opens to the adjacent roof garden. A restaurant, bar and lounge float at the top, overlooking the lake and historic city beyond.

Amenity floors, marked externally by a separation of the building skin between the lower hotel floors and the upper apartment levels, include a pool, fitness center, and lounge. Commercial space in the tower is united with the street and surrounding urban environment by a swath of building skin designating its presence.