conrad hangzhou tonglu is a luxury hillside resort overlooking tianxi lake in china

nestled into the banks of tianxi lake in yinzhu, china, is the latest luxury resort opened by hilton hotels. surrounded by rolling mountain peaks, ‘conrad hangzhou tonglu’ offers the perfect place to escape and enjoy world-class facilities. the project was realized by architecture firm, hanjia design group, with the sumptuous interiors created by china modern academy.

image by zhong yonggang (also main image)

first opened in late 2019, the resort includes 79 hotel suites and 11 private villas, each with amazing views looking out over the lake. the program also features two restaurants, one bar and one lobby lounge, a spa and salon, indoor pool and seasonal outdoor infinity pool.

image courtesy of conrad hotels & resorts

the lighting design of conrad hangzhou tonglu was curated by PROL, and with this project, the studio has been shortlisted in the 2020 lighting design award (LDA) in the hotel category. to maximize the beauty and tranquility of the natural setting, PROL’s concept for the resort is based on the notion of restraint. it focuses not only on the use of light to illuminate the hotel at night, but also on how to hide the buildings into the forest through the overall light environment management, so that it blends with the mountains and rivers under the blue starry sky.

image courtesy of conrad hotels & resorts

the challenge for PROL was to use light as the building material and medium to integrate the resort into the natural context. to create a peaceful place away from the stresses of daily life, PROL’s answer was: ‘when designing light, design darkness first.’ the project avoids excessive lighting to create an environment where the eyes can feel the natural light of stars and the moon. a place where people can forget the problems of the world, sleep in the reflections of the lights on the lake and the stars in the sky. immerse in the gleam, mist and shadows of trees, and breathe with the mountains and waters, this is the conrad hangzhou tonglu that PROL wants to present.

image courtesy of conrad hotels & resorts

image by zhong yonggang

image by zhong yonggang

image by zhong yonggang

conrad hangzhou tonglu

image by zhong yonggang

image by zhong yonggang

image by zhong yonggang

image by zhong yonggang

project info:

project name: conrad hangzhou tonglu

location: yinzhu, hangzhou, zhejiang, china

client: CCIG real estate

architecture design firm: hanjia design group

interior design firm: china modern academy

lighting design firm: li hui, fu li / PROL

gross built area: 96,875 ft2 (9000 m2)

project marketing plan: lele brand strategy agency

photography: zhong yonggang

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: lynne myers | designboom