shangri-la hotel captures oriental zen by yiduan shanghai interior design

shortly after meeting a couple of years ago, a client requested xu xujun, chief designer at yiduan shanghai interior design, to present a brief proposal of a homestay hotel set in yunnan, china. xujun then drew a rough draft by hand —  elements of oriental zen were added to the overlapping connected buildings, and the tibetan style of the ancient city shangri-la was taken as a smooth transition, thus a simple hostel which presents the beauty of nature was gradually shown.

entrance to ‘karesansui’ hotel in shangri-la city
all images by zhu enlong

chinese based yiduan shanghai interior design‘s ‘karesansui’ hotel is located in shangri-la — a geographically blessed land — and only three minutes’ walk from the popular sifang street. buildings of the ‘karesansui’ are built on the slopes — it took nearly two years to complete the construction. during that period, xu xujun stayed on site with his assistants to instruct and follow up on the work being held. this contributes to the perfect implementation of the design.

elements of oriental zen were added to the overlapping connected buildings

‘karesansui’ is composed of six small buildings and an old tibetan house. visually, the two buildings where the restaurant and lobby are located are floating in the air. bridged by corridors, the structures are undulating and interwoven with each other. there are 15 guest rooms in total, in addition, there is a lobby, a restaurant and a tea room. unique indoor design is found in each one of the bedrooms, while giving guests a great sense of privacy, it shows the beauty of a new oriental zen.

the tibetan style of the ancient city shangri-la is taken as a smooth transition

one of the buildings keep the original tibetan structure and local tibetan elements are added to its architectural and interior design. when designing the window, yiduan shanghai interior design made full use of the great view, making it possible for guests to enjoy the painting-like scenery of blue sky, white clouds, sunrise and sunset. the transformation of new styled buildings and the old tibetan houses is natural and harmonious. the scale of the hostel is not big, but it is exquisite.

‘karesansui’ is composed of six small buildings and an old tibetan house

the space function layout is ingenious and just perfect. while standing out, the buildings absolutely blend into the surrounding environment and hostels. the local committee call it ‘one of the most beautiful hostels in shangri-la’. the name of this accommodation comes from liu changqin’s ‘seeking monk chang shan — living in seclusion in the southern stream’, poet of tang dynasty. ‘enjoy the green pines after the rain, walk by the path of the mountain and find the source of the water, I understand zen from the reflection of the flowers in the stream, and I stare at them silently.’ the poet didn’t find the taoist, instead, he found something else interesting which enabled him to get insight into zen.

bridged by corridors, the structures are undulating and interwoven with each other

the name ‘karesansui’ is thus born — it aims at helping guests to gain spiritual pleasure and psychological satisfaction. being enlighten by the quiet stream, enjoying fun of tranquility from appreciating the swaying wildflowers — what’s deep inside the heart is a kind of peace and joy of self-examination. such kind of peaceful mood integrated harmoniously with the quiet environment. yiduan shanghai interior design envisages an agreeable experience here for all guests.

buildings of the ‘karesansui’ are built on the slopes — it took nearly two years to complete the construction

there are 15 guest rooms in total, in addition, there is a lobby, a restaurant and a tea room

unique indoor design is found in each one of the bedrooms, while giving guests a great sense of privacy

the local committee call it ‘one of the most beautiful hostels in shangri-la’

yiduan shanghai interior design envisages an agreeable experience here for all guests

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom