Tsingpu Retreat — Yangzhou, China

The impression of modern China tends to be a little skewed by the steely, impersonal landscape of skyscrapers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. How refreshing it is then that designers and architects like Neri&Hu Design and Research Office are showing how it’s possible to conceive a contemporary Chinese vernacular that looks and feels thoroughly of its time and place.
For the 20-room Tsingpu, the Shanghai-based practice overlaid the original footprint of a neglected warehouse near Yangzhou’s Slender West Lake with a calm grid of low-slung grey-bricked pavilions, courtyards and internal decorative pools that call to mind, without any hint of cliché, traditional hutong houses.
The rooms are calm oases lined with terrazzo, white oak, walnut and steel, and dressed with furniture and lighting designed by Neri&Hu specially for this project. This sense of peace is accented by the public spaces – including an art gallery, theatre and tea house – that are framed by broad timber overhangs that catch the light and slivers of sky.
INFORMATION
Website
ADDRESS
1 Baocheng Road Hanjiang District Yangzhou
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Knoll classics become unique works of art in the hands of Noel Mercado
Chicago artist Noel Mercado transforms three Knoll classics into one-off works of art using discarded car parts
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Budding romance: Dior pays homage to the rose
Dior Joaillerie’s ‘Bois de Rose’ collection pays homage to the classic flower
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Alaïa teams up with Rare Books Paris to curate a stylish library
Alaïa partners with Rare Books Paris to celebrate some of fashion and art’s most collectable tomes, curated by Peter Mulier and displayed in Alaïa’s Paris and London boutiques
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico
By Chadner Navarro Published
-
West Kowloon wonders to discover now
Cultural and culinary adventures, extraordinary spaces and outstanding experiences in West Kowloon, Hong Kong
By Simon Mills Last updated
-
Ramshackle farmhouse in China's Hubei province gets a slick makeover
The reimagined farmhouse is now a contemporary bolthole
By Lauren Ho Last updated
-
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland
By Daven Wu Last updated
-
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia
By Dimity Noble Last updated
-
KLoé Hotel — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
By Jennifer Choo Last updated
-
Beast x Gubi House — Shanghai, China
By Cat Nelson Last updated
-
Casa Hoyos — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
By Daven Wu Last updated