Urban Relief

Project idea

Urban relief is a hospitality project located on a high-density urban plot in the center of Xi'an, near the Anyuan Gate, one of the four main gates of the ancient city wall constructed during the Ming Dynasty. Beyond the design of a hotel, the primary objective was to adress the high density by carving out breathable public spaces at the end of long axial corridors.

Project description

The footprint of the building was limited to provide open plazas on the sides facing the urban roads. These plazas were paved with stone rubble and stripped of heavy landscaping elements (with the exception of the vegetated area on the southeast corner of the plot). They are intended to provide residents of this dense urban environment with a vital sense of spatial relief.

As for the architecture itself, the design centers on the contrast engendered by the dichotomic programs of the modern hotel typology: the highly active public areas versus the private guest room floors. This contrast was explored through several key aspects of the design:
1) The interplay between the regular structural grid, which continues vertically up to the roof, and the angled volume supported by cruciform columns that links the first three public floors together while actively breaking away from that grid.
2) The tension between the heavy, monolithic private upper block and the highly porous, transparent public podium.

Another central feature is the addition of a cylindrical volume open to the sky. This void serves not only to emphasize the main entrance but also acts as a spatial anchor, locating the perceived volumetric center of the building.

Technical information

Total Gross Floor Area: 21,200 square meters
Program: 186 guest rooms distributed between the 4th and 7th floors
Vertical Stratification: 7 total floors plus a rooftop level
Amenities: The rooftop is divided into a covered fitness and leisure area and an open-air rooftop garden
Parking & Services: 68 underground parking spots and 18 ground level parking spaces.
Structure: Reinforced concrete frame structure

Documentation

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