Vector Architects – Alila Yangshuo

PROJECT: Vector Architects – Alila Yangshuo

LOCATION: No.102 Dongling Road, Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi, China

YEAR: 2017

ARCHITECT / FIRM: Vector Architects

BUYER: Landmark Tourism Investment Company

SURFACE: 16.000 sqm

PRICE: € 38.550.000

DESCRIPTION:
Alila Yangshuo sits in the picturesque Li River valley of Yangshuo, Guangxi. Surrounded by the region's characteristic karst mountain scenery, an old sugar mill built in 1960s, with an industrial truss used for sugar cane transport, has been beautifully preserved. We envision this industrial heritage to represent the spirit of older generations, guiding the premise of this project. Our main design strategies include the following. •Old and New Flanked with the newly-added suite building and villa, the old sugar mill and industrial truss occupy the central part of the hotel complex. The sunken plaza and reflective pond further accentuate the spiritual symbolism and significance of the old structure. Instead of simply copying the old materiality and texture, we seek nuance and a sense of consistency by using more contemporary materials and construction methods while remaining the tinge and masonry structure of the Old. Hollow concrete blocks and wood-formed cast-in-place concrete serves to make the new volume lighter and more transparent visually without disturbing the existing order, while enhancing natural lighting and ventilation. We keep the profile of new building as simple as possible to avoid unnecessary distraction to the old sugar mill caused by overly expressive geometry. Roof slope is consistent with the original one: after the completion of the hotel complex, its profile becomes a cluster of pitched roofs. We hope the New conveys a sophisticated consistency with the Old, while also being a progressive evolution. •Promenade Experience We view our site as a garden for guests to wander and ponder in: an old sugar mill, the industrial truss, new volumes, a reflective pond and path define spaces of different kinds. Two circulation systems pass up and through the suite building: one being a completely functional corridor system with the other serving as a free public walkway, connecting three important cave-like node spaces. The public walkway is the extension of the promenade experience on the ground level. Wandering around the resort hotel, guests experience alternating light and dark, and changes of the framed landscape view, distance and elevation. •Man-made and Natural The site is surrounded by karst peaks, facing the Li River to the south and a busy road to the north. The horizontality of architecture and verticality of the karst mountains suggest an interaction between the man-made and the natural. Additionally, the public walkway can be regarded as an artificial, geometric version of the pathways and caves carved into the karst mountains since ancient times. The “caves” are carefully located so that they visually connect architectural space with the natural mountain landscape.

DESCRIPTION:
1. The History of This Industrial and Architectural Heritage The beautiful mill was designed by architect Huang Juli in 1969 and completed in 1972, which was an industrialized derivative of the local sugarcane economy. In the era of Planned Economy of China, it contributed significantly to the prosperity of the local people's livelihood. Along with large-scale sugar factories were set up in Guangxi and the policy of ecology protection in the Li River had been more and more strict since then. The local farmers lived in the surrounding villages changed their traditional planting species to fruits. The production capacity of the mill was gradually going downward, resulting in a compressed the market share. The regional economy gradually shifted from industrial production to tourism. The mill officially ceased production in January 2001 and had since been abandoned until 2008. 2. An Architectural Heritage Situated in the Change and Revolution of Social Economy The social economy experienced a huge change in Yangshuo, as well as in the other place of China during the last two decades. As the social functions of different regions have been more exquisitely distinguished. The surrounding environment of Li river transformed into an eco-conserving area, the economic type of which gradually shifted from the traditional secondary industry to the tertiary industry. In this new era, the old architectural heritages found a turning point in the fate of falling into ruin.

DESCRIPTION:
The Yangshuo Sugar Mill, located in Southern China, was designed by architect Huang Juli in 1969 and completed in 1972. It was an industrialized derivative of the local sugarcane economy. In the era of Planned Economy, the sugar mill contributed significantly to the prosperity of the local people's livelihood. However, Yangshuo Sugar mill entered a period of suspension in 2001-2008. As the government aimed to protect the ecology of the Li River, the sugar factory that was located at the edge of the Li River had to reduce production accordingly. It officially ceased production in January 2001 and had since been abandoned until 2008. During 2008-2010, Yangshuo Sugar Mill had undergone a period of restoration. The Yangshuo Sugar Mill, together with the surrounding triangular land, was acquired by a client from Shenzhen. The collapsed roof of the old mill building was being repaired in 2008. The layout of the whole sugar mill was also preserved: the crane truss that used to transport sugarcane raw materials from the Li River, and the refining workshop where the syrup used to flow down with gravity to the next workshop for extraction. The main building in the middle of the site was structurally reinforced and properly refurbished. In the third year after the restoration of the sugar factory, we were involved in the renovation and design of the Yangshuo Sugar Mill. We envision industrial heritage as the representation of the spirit of older generation. This became the premise of this project.

- SURFACE present EXTENSION,

BALANCE BETWEEN CONSERVATION AND REPLACEMENT: The overall dimensions are about twice the pre-existing surface.

- VOLUME present EXTENSION,

PREVALENT REPLACEMENT / DISCONTINUITY: The overall dimensions are about three times the pre- existing volume.

DESCRIPTION:
We make architectural and landscape design and 120 rooms resort complex ( site area 26,000 sqm ) among Karst Mountains along Li River in Yangshuo. The project includes preservation, renovation and new architectural interventions, with a true respect to the industrial heritage, which acts as the representation of spirit of older generation and existing context. Horizontality of architecture and verticality of Karst mountain shows interaction between the man-made and the natural.

DESCRIPTION:
The architects carefully preserved the layout of the whole sugar mill: the crane truss that used to transport sugarcane raw materials from the Li River, and the refining workshop where the syrup used to flow down with gravity to the next workshop for extraction. They envision the industrial heritage as the representation of the spirit of the original site and the memory of the older generation. The sunken plaza and reflecting pond further accentuate the spiritual symbolism and significance of the old structure.

DESCRIPTION:
The collapsed roof of the old mill building was being repaired in 2008. The layout of the whole sugar mill was also preserved: the crane truss that used to transport sugarcane raw materials from the Li River, and the refining workshop where the syrup used to flow down with gravity to the next workshop for extraction. The main building in the middle of the site was structurally reinforced and properly refurbished. The original building was made of bricks, however the architect avoided the same use of bricks to imitate the old appearance. Hollow concrete blocks are made to re-examine an external facade that was different and unified from the old building. In this case, the normal concrete drying finishing is working for the hollow blocks, and wet slurry process was applied after substantial experiments. The local construction workers invented a de-molding device with a motor underneath to push out the finished blocks and built a temporary shed on the other side of the street. Each block has been obtained through the use of concrete with very fine aggregate, poured without vibration into recyclable PVC formwork capable of generating very smooth surfaces, reinforced by steel bars set into the compound. The masonry process was also full of wisdom. As the reinforcement of the steel bars had been built into the head, the workers need to put a stone between the blocks first and then slide into the concrete blocks with another stone, finally complete the masonry of the whole wall.

DESCRIPTION:
The architects are addressed to the functional renovation of the old factory complex and the creation of a system of spatial and visual relations, emphasized through a meticulous layout and the use of construction materials for the two new buildings. The stone-concrete curtain wall on the main building is casted by wood formwork on which to nail internal boards with a height equal to the bricks of the facades of the existing buildings on site. In addition to follow the size of blocks, the rustic and sturdy texture of the old building has also be continued to applied in the volume of the new building.

DESCRIPTION:
The design strategy makes the old building as a carrier of emotional memory and the core leader of the new hotel complex, so that the old heritage was injects with vitality and regains its proper role in the new environmental framework.