Fact File
Location: ZhongweiI, China
Size: 2000 sq m
Principal Architect: Jingze Li
Photography by: Shengliang Su

Designed by DAS Lab, the Lost Villa Boutique Hotel is located on the banks of the Yellow River. Re-examining the relationship between windows, light, spaces, and human beings, sciagraphy is the key design element in the intentionally rustic and minimalist aesthetic. We did not want an ambitious landmark; instead, we hoped to create buildings that involve nature and become invisible, balancing architecture with humbleness and veneration. There are 15 rooms in the hotel, each one injected with different characteristics, offering a framed view of the river or the fruit-bearing forest. By creating different room types, we tried to experiment with different models, scales, and materials to re-evaluate the relationship between humans and nature. Light is a key element in the interior. When all decorations and colours are visually hidden in the heaviness of space, you will only see the light and the shadow changing with time, playing a symphony on the walls and floors and conveying the spirituality of the space, which stimulates strong emotional resonance.

The hotel was inspired by local houses and features flat roofs, terraces, courtyards, and reed-topped eaves galleries to encourage more outdoor activities. We used a special treatment of cement mortar on the exterior walls to restore the texture of rammed earth found in local buildings, so the architecture would look beautifully “old” after being exposed to winds and rain for a while. The Dawan Village is located at east longitude 105.19 and north latitude 37.50, with a winter temperature of minus 20°. Therefore, except for the large-scale floor-to-ceiling windows in the landscape, the other facades have limited openings. By doing this, we managed to re-examine the relationship between windows, lights, spaces, and humans and further explore the scenarized expression of our consciousness in spaces.