Not only is this new hotel complex comprised of 10 wood cabins visually striking, the subtext of its location is almost equally captivating. Designed as part of a new government initiative to help alleviate poverty in rural China by introducing agricultural tourism, the Woodhouse Hotel juxtaposes individual hotel pods against an unpolluted natural mountainside and a nearby farming village.
Three simple, geometric forms were concepted by Chinese architecture firm ZJJZ, designed to embrace the rustic atmosphere and hover above the natural landscape. By using concrete stilts and elevated steel platforms and materials hauled to the build sites by hand, the design team hoped to harmonize with the native topography and minimize the ecological impact of both construction and the structure’s future inhabitants.
The cabins’ exteriors feature cabonized timber (aka charred wood) manufactured on site to weatherize the structures while further reducing cost and environmental impact—the visual benefit not only looks really dang cool but helps the structures blend into the forested mountainside as well.
If you’ve ever needed an excuse to visit rural china and develop an opinion of the oft-maligned country for yourself, here you go.
