Skip To Main Content
Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

Order Issue

A Product of

The Ripple Effect
AccommodationAndrew McDonald

The Ripple Effect

China

Both literally and figuratively speaking, The Ripple Hotel takes Hangzhou’s boutique hotel scene to the next level. Christie Lee writes.


Located along the scenic Qiandao Lake in Hangzhou, Ripple Hotel is a collection of 12 duplex villas designed as a hotel for small families or couples seeking a leisurely weekend in Hangzhou.

While the architecture, conceived by German firm GMP, exhibits a strong Bauhaus design sensibility, the interiors, designed by Shanghai-based studio XL MUSE Architectural Design, pay homage to Hangzhou with its use of natural materials and colourful fabrics.

As the hotel’s name implies, Qiandao Lake – or rather the movement of its ripples – is a motif that threads through the various design elements.

The design team at XL MUSE says of the inspiration, “[We] want the hotel to appear like a microcosm of Hangzhou’s natural landscape. We want the grandeur of nature to be translated into the architectural space.”

At the reception hall, a boat hangs down from the ceiling. Carved from real wood, it doubles up as hotel reception desk and objet d’art. As your eyes are brought further up, the ceiling is weaved from throngs of thin bamboo. Oars act as a divider, providing guests with a quiet moment before they’re led to their rooms. All natural materials are locally sourced.

Incorporating so much nature, so to speak, into the design is not without its challenges. “As bamboo is a natural material, prior treatment is needed to ensure that it is anti-corrosive and damp-proof,” the design team notes.

The above spatial arrangement is repeated in the individual hotel rooms. Interiors are vast, with separate and distinct spaces carved out for the dining, living and sleeping quarters, making it ideal for longer stays.

In the living room, the curved sofa is wrapped in bright hues, adding a splash of colour to the otherwise muted palette. The arc is also meant to mimic the moment “when a pebble is thrown into the water, causing ripples”.

Pendant lamps are made from bamboo hats, a nod to Hangzhou’s agricultural history. The floor-to-ceiling windows allow sunlight to flood in by day, and bring in views of the picturesque Qiandao Lake and surrounding landscape. This composition is brought indoors, too, with a branch, part of a vine or a dash of pebbles reimagined as paintings.

XL MUSE Architectural Design
xl-muse.com

GMP
gmp-architekten.de

Ripple-01
The Ripple Hotel | Habitus Liiving
Ripple-04
Ripple-05
Ripple-06
Ripple-07

About the Author

Andrew McDonald


Related Projects
Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

Order Issue