Honghe Hani & Yi Autonomous Prefecture, China

Conceived by renowned Chinese artist Luo Xu based on the design concept “austerity, simplicity, and authenticity,” the architecture for the new DongFengYun Hotel Mi’Le reveals a round, stable and simple image. 

The building seems to carry the traces of time and seems to be kneaded by a pair of big, rough hands. It quietly lies on the red soil, showing a magnificent posture. 

For interior design, Joe Cheng and his team at CCD did not adopt “modernized” or “industrial” design expressions. 

Instead, the team drew inspiration from the local cultural context, and leveraged simplistic languages to integrate the space into nature.

The bowl-shaped entrance space has a carved-out opening on the top, which creates pleasing echoes.

With natural daylight pouring in, dynamic light and shadows freely move in the space and fall on the curved enclosure wall, which appears like a rippling water surface and evokes infinite imagination.

The varying rhythms of light and shadows coupled with surprising sensory experiences and elaborate details create a sense of ritual to welcome guests.

Considering the attribute of the project as a leisure resort hotel, the design team mainly utilized low-level lighting, with a view to producing a comfortable, natural, and warm luminous ambiance.

In contrast, lighting for artworks, signs, and tabletops are accentuated, to create visual highlights.

Based on the principle “less is more” direct ceiling lighting is reduced to avoid glare.

The bowl-like entrance space and modern lighting installations incorporate more local cultural elements to highlight the unique features of the hotel.

Lighting and daylight collide with natural materials such as red bricks, rammed earth, and straw-textured paint, accentuating the presence of each other.

The wall washing lighting strips installed near the floor generate a soft, graceful, and ethereal vibe, perfectly interacting with the space.

Frameless black mirrored lighting fixtures are mounted in a concealed manner, creating a visual feast that light and shadows, materials and the space are well blended together.

The lobby continues natural design languages, and meanwhile shows full respect to architectural structures and local culture. 

Plain materials such as local red burnt bricks, cement, clay, and crocks are adopted, so as to unify the tone of the interior space and integrate it with the building into a whole. 

CCD abandoned complex, exaggerated decorations, and intended to let every object in the space gradually reveal the authentic charm as time passes.

The cement-finished backdrop wall, round columns, crock-shaped lamps, and geometric front desks show sculpture-like powerful, three-dimensional, and steady features. 

Those elements are independent and also complement each other. A natural, simple atmosphere suffuses the overall space. 

Through various forms, the design realizes the symbiosis of natural elements and architectural space.

The atrium is decorated with no excessive flowers or plants but is highlighted by a shallow rippling pool in the middle, which is tranquil yet intriguing. 

The architecture and plants are reflected on the water surface, which expands the space atmospherically and provides a natural, cozy and refreshing experience. 

Upon entering the atrium courtyard, the guests can immediately get relaxed and feel indescribable pleasure.

Yunnan is a popular tourist destination for healing the mind, as time seems to stop here. 

The walls of the restaurant utilize local red clay bricks and draw on the form of grape trellis, which not only combines modern innovations and old textures but also creates infinite possibilities in diversified ways. 

CCD abandoned cookie-cutter, complex expressions, and added vitality and fashion to the space. 

Meanwhile, local characteristic pottery is used as adornments to enhance the sense of history in the space.

The names and designs of all guestrooms pay tribute to local artists such as painting, pottery, dyeing, and composition, as well as treasures like jade and pearls. 

Every detail retains the trace of local craftsmanship and secretly tells its own story. 

With “warm ambiance” and “original simplicity” fusing into the space, the design fully embodies the hotel’s aesthetic philosophy — “Art dialogues with everything, inspiration portrays life.”

Project: DongFengYun Hotel Mi’Le — MGallery
Architects: Cheng Chung Design (HK) Co., Ltd. (CCD)
Artist: Luo Xu
Landscape Architects: Yunnan Zilian Landscaping & Greening Engineering Co. Ltd.
Client: Yunnan Urban & Rural Construction Investment Co., Ltd.
Photographers: Ting Wang