Written by 
Text description provided by the architects. The village of Maying, located in the Yanqing District of Beijing, derives its name from Maying Castle. Maying Castle was constructed during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. It has a rectangular shape and is characterized by city walls made of rammed earth. Historically, it served as a significant military fortress and post station. Nowadays, the artificial features of the castle have been erased by time and lost their original form, making it difficult to recognize the original square shape. The rammed earth walls have weathered to become part of the natural environment, coexisting with the willow forest that has been growing on the site for more than seventy years. The village is full of old corn that is being dried, and the ambiance of a typical northern Chinese village envelops the senses. Farther northwest of the village is the Yeyahu National Wetland Park, which is open as far as the eye can see, as there are no more buildings to block the view.
The ARVO 16:30 hotel project is situated in the northwest corner at the edge of Maying village, with a road serving as the only barrier between it and the surrounding mountains and fields. This time, we have chosen to move away from the mischievous elements of our previous designs, such as attempting to place a spaceship in the valley or painting a giant horse on the ground. Instead, we have drawn inspiration from the Maying castles that have become part of the natural environment, by merging several courtyards of a village into a building – constructing a castle, and planting trees throughout its grounds, so that the exterior looked almost seamlessly into the village scenery. The light yellow building harmonizing deeply and delicately echo the medium yellow of the village’s corn and the earthy yellow of the rammed earth castle, enabling the building to become fully integrated into the village’s original state of life.
When we first arrived at the project site, the 4:00 p.m. sun was hitting the southeast-facing project site evenly, while the willow grove to the northwest of the site cast a shadow that provided ample romantic elements to the project. This is also why we decided to build a long solid wall on the west side of the site adjacent to the village road, which serves as a “curtain” for the projection of light and shadow. In the well-lit courtyard, sunlight cascades onto these ‘curtains’ in scattered patches, the light and shadow like scattered twinkling stars. The atmosphere of the hotel radiates a languid and serene charm within the forest of light and shadow.
Given that the site is approximately 2 meters higher than the village road, we took advantage of this level by lifting the continuous wall off the ground. This wall was positioned at the site level, well above the village road, utilizing the height difference between the site and the village road to create an interspace approximately the height of a person. This interspace serves as the main entrance to the hotel. This raised wall creates a natural transition between the interior of the hotel and its surroundings. Guests will stroll through the woods, moving from the natural setting into the courtyard, and then winding upward along the ramp to arrive at the hotel lobby.
The overall spatial layout of the hotel is nested and enclosed, comprising three distinct sections: the entrance hospitality area, the hotel room area, and the supporting activities area. At the entrance reception area, function spaces such as the hotel lobby and rest zones alternate with courtyards along the long wall on the same axis. The consistent application of the same kind of finishes for both indoor and outdoor walls, along with the presence of oversized glass doors, so that the interior spaces and the landscape courtyard layer by layer, blurring the boundaries between inside and outside. The people walk in it, flowing in the continuous space.
The second floor of the hotel lobby features an outdoor terrace that provides scenic views of the willow grove to the west and the Yeyahu National Wetland Park, offering an unobstructed view of lush greenery. The landscaped courtyard acts as an extension of the rural landscape, featuring a square window in the long wall that similarly frames the picturesque sunset and the branches of the trees. Based on the varying number of guests, the hotel rooms are categorized into standard rooms, suites, and courtyard-style rooms. The presence of courtyards and winding pathways allows for a layout where the hotel room groups are relatively independent but not too dispersed.
Each hotel room features its own private hot tub and patio, striking a harmonious balance between openness and tranquility. Guests can enjoy views of the surrounding landscape while ensuring privacy for rest. At the same time, bespoke furniture was designed for each hotel room, featuring a harmonious combination of steel and wood. The floating form of furniture that balances the weightiness of both the materials and colors, while maintaining the overall aesthetic of the building. The standard room is set up with a large and a small courtyard. Inside, the small courtyard of about 3 square meters separates the washroom from the bedroom, while floor-to-ceiling glass enables guests to see the begonias at four in the morning. At the far end of the room lay the larger courtyard, featuring a hot tub and trees that divided the courtyard. Leaves gently descended onto the water, creating tranquil ripples.
The en-suite hotel rooms are three floors of loft space connected by a rotating staircase. The first floor is the living room, which is connected to the exclusive private courtyard and leads to the hotel’s public areas; the highest level has a window-facing hot tub resembling a small boat afloat, with its bottom being the curved ceiling of the bedroom on the middle floor. The bedroom and the hot tub share a vertically window. At the far end of the hotel, there are courtyard rooms that are ideal for families or small groups. Two to three rooms share a courtyard, where a private hot tub and lush plants create a focal point of the view from the windows, as well as a gathering space for guests.
In order to enhance the vitality of rural life experiences, we have incorporated a range of public activities into the hotel, interspersed with restaurants, swimming pools, barbecue areas, camping areas, outdoor ceremony venues and other supporting spaces. The restaurant is located in a separate area to the north of the main hotel. It is separated from the hotel rooms by a swimming pool, a sunken courtyard, several steps, and a village road.The U-shaped building connects the restaurant to the recreation room, enclosing a shallow pool that mirrors. At the far end, a metal spiral staircase at the end was mirrored by the shallow pool. If the brick house represents the everyday of rural life, the pure and uniform geometric shapes, along with the yellowish hues, indicate how this building differs from other vernacular dwellings. If staying at rural hotels serves as a regular escape from urban life, then the “countryside theme park” thus adds more consciousness and perception to the act of lodging, is a fashionable version of the accommodation that is exaggerated.
The client once expressed the desire to create a hotel famous on social media. We believe that amidst various daily and unconventional design approaches, it is only the sunlight at 4:30 PM that consistently connects the guests’ mundane needs with their aspirations and dreams. This light is not only the best filter for taking photos, but also holds the potential magic to make the hotel a social media sensation.The ARVO 16:30 Hotel is a castle that captures light and greenery.
