This renovation project aims at transforming a large empty building, originally planned to host several restaurants, into a boutique hotel with 100 bedrooms and several public services.

The new program imposed important modifications to the facade, the creation of a swimming pool that occupies a large part of the courtyard and the addition of new volumes on the higher levels. These punctual interventions unfortunately increased the original volumetric fragmentation of the structure. The construction of a layer of blades that partially wraps the old façade and bends into a fluid continuous roof creates a coherent envelope and a totally new identity for the building.

The blades also provide shading, while allowing natural ventilation for the rooms and the higher terraces, responding to the characteristics of the tropical climate of Guilin. Furthermore, the interstitial space between the façade and the new skin gave the opportunity to create a series of public and private terraces with good views towards the amazing landscape of the region.