Wander Hotel
Fon Studio transformed a three-story farmhouse into a serene hotel through a three-year design journey, integrating the building into its surroundings and creating varied guest rooms with intricate details.
During the summer of 2021, Fon Studio made an initial visit to a riverside construction situated in the valley, seven kilometers upstream of Beijing’s Yanqi Lake. The three-story farmhouse was skillfully integrated into its surroundings, displaying an impeccable symmetry and precise layout. After establishing with the owner the intention of creating an experience detached from daily routines and fostering moments of introspection, the design team embarked on a three-year transformation journey, ultimately realizing the completion of the hotel nestled in the serene valley.
Initially, Fon Studio introduced a longitudinal “negative box” on the western side of the structure, removing the walls and floor slabs to create an open area. This void space serves to link the entrance reception area and the corridor encircling the “negative box”, allowing a clear view through the elevated height on the western side. The tree shadows cast by the windows onto the interior walls are shared with everyone within this space. Day or night, the overall translucent quality also provides a secure and engaging spot for children of all ages to play.
Reconfiguring the initial 24 symmetrically positioned small areas into 9 distinct guest rooms with varied spaces constitutes a focused embodiment of the design’s intricate details. All the guest rooms are positioned on the second and third floors along the east and south sides to capture the finest views. Employing diverse spatial treatment methods within each room significantly impacts the previously uniform facade from interior to exterior. Some sections protrude outward, forming an embedded block, while others recede inward, creating a setback. When evening comes, every nook bathed in luminous radiance reflects the beacons on the nearby mountainside.
Nestled amid the mountains, surrounded by sparse settlements, and intersected by highways, this fully functional, unassuming, and serene structure offers an opportunity for urban dwellers to occasionally indulge in distraction, thereby forming the cornerstone of our renovation design.
Design: Fon Studio
Design Team: Li Hongzhen, Jin Boan, Luo Shuanghua, Li Yeying
Photography: Qin Wei
