XiXuan Medi Spa
Location: Hangzhou, China
Year: 2009-2011
Area: 2,000 m2
The site of the Medi-Spa is on the edge of Xi Xi, a wetland national park, located 10km north east of Hangzhou. It occupies the basement two floors of a fifty room boutique hotel. The scenic beauty of the wetland park was a definite inspiration. However, It was not to be a literal or picturesque translation of the surrounding landscape; rather we sought a more abstract interpretation. The idea was to create an underground cavern, lined in stone with various textures. Stones with hand-chiseled finish, finely honed finish and high polish translucent onyx acted as metaphor for the skin treatment provided by the spa.
The plan consists of alternating layers of public spaces and private rooms laid out orthogonally. The public spaces of lobbies, corridors and water treatment pools were given a grand vertical proportion. They reinforce the image of caverns and grottos. The rooms are of three different types: single, double, and duplex. The private corridors that lead to the rooms are screened from the public areas with a series of illuminated onyx walls. These walls are constructed from thousands of individually placed onyx panels onto a stainless steel frame. They become a kind of porous membrane resembling our skin. ©copyright HO + HOU Studio Architects