Suzhou, China
Drawing inspiration from historic and contemporary Chinese garden design, Kohn Pederson Fox Associates with Hersch Bender Associates and China Construction Design International break down large volumes into more intimate spaces to form the new Park Hyatt hotel in Suzhou.
Embracing the rich history of traditional Suzhou, the Park Hyatt Suzhou is a destination in and of itself, conceived as a modern addition to the city’s breathtaking classical gardens.
Located in the city’s prime waterfront park along Jinji Lake, adjacent to the East Lake Central Business District, the hotel is inspired by a contemporary estate organized around intimate gardens.
For its inspired design approach, Park Hyatt Suzhou has recently been awarded both a 2022 International Architecture Award and a 2022 American Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Spaces in the hotel are arranged around a series of internal and external garden courts, providing a calm, contemplative atmosphere that connects guests to the surrounding nature and allows them to circulate around manicured landscapes.
Designed from the inside out, the Park Hyatt Suzhou seeks to connect visitors with landscape on all levels.
The hotel’s primary orientation is to the south, responding to the adjacent lakefront park with an array of garden terraces starting at grade and stepping up the building.
Two guest room wings of the 178-key hotel are organized around an inner courtyard, while the other two sides of the courtyard are formed by a two-story podium.
Featured amenities that open onto these gardens include meeting and event spaces, a pool, a fitness center, a spa, and several food and beverage venues.
The building is modulated into a series of discrete boxes to break down the scale and support a sense of intimacy.
Nineteen spacious suites feature generous outdoor terraces with uninterrupted views of the neighboring Jinji Lake.
Within the hotel design, material elements of traditional Suzhou architecture are translated into textured white terra cotta panels, gray metal window frames, and bronze metal fins.
The thematic, ornamental screen on the building’s façade contrast with the light terracotta cladding, while abstracting and reinterpreting the filigree-latticed windows found in historic gardens.
Project: Park Hyatt Suzhou
Architects: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC.
Lead Architect: Josh Chaiken
Local Design Institute: China Construction Design International Co., Ltd.
Interior Architects: Hersch Bender Associates
General Contractor: China Construction Design International Co., Ltd.
Client: Suzhou Gold Mantis Enterprise Group Co. Ltd.
Photographers: Ai Qing
