Haitang Bay, Sanya, China
Beach Club at The Sanya Edition is a sustainable, luxury hotel beach club in China designed by Qianyi Lin and Dongzi Yang with their team from Various Associates that uses natural and locally sourced materials to represent the island city and enable the new outdoor structures to adapt to natural changes.
Edition is a luxury boutique hotel brand affiliated with the hotel chain Marriott, which entrusted Various Associates to upgrade the beach club of its first hotel opened in China, known as The Sanya Edition.
Located at the picturesque Haitang Bay, The Sanya Edition enjoys a first-class beach and a fascinating sea view.
Together with natural coconut groves, it creates a strong atmosphere unique to Hainan and brings an unprecedented leisure experience to the guests.
Every Edition hotel embraces local aesthetic features and is distinguished from each other, while also sharing an iconic brand identity.
When Various Associates took on the project, the primary consideration was how to create a tasteful, cozy, and relaxing venue for socializing while incorporating the inviting natural landscape of Sanya and the aesthetics of Edition into the design.
The aesthetics of The Sanya Edition are defined by lush greenery, textured materials in original colors, and soft lighting.
The beach club “grows” from a site enclosed by the existing plants, which are the soul of the new space.
“Under the Tree” is the design concept of the project that conveys the design team’s intention to create a comfortable, unrestrained space.
The continuous bamboo-woven structures consist of five overlapping tree-like canopies with different heights and forms.
Their organic and naturally curved profiles merge beautifully into lush nature.
The natural coconut groves and the new structures are scattered around sunken booths.
The new structures are connected to the ground through their “trunks” that naturally blend with the preserved plants.
The expansive and naturally curvy “tree” canopies bring sufficient protection to the club’s guests, while the space between each canopy brings surrounding greenery into view.
The clustering canopy structures form beautiful and continuous lines that generate a well-arranged spatial rhythm that blends into nature.
To ensure a purely visual effect, every structure is presented as an independent work of bamboo weaving, which took days of on-site work by multiple experienced craftsmen.
A central bar counter is set up in the middle of the site in the shape of a giant trunk, generating circulation around the bar.
The new “tree” canopy structures utilize the craft of bamboo weaving, which carries the typical impression of tropical cities.
The design team chose natural and locally sourced materials, to represent the island city and enable the new outdoor structures to adapt to natural changes.
The material selection emphasizes not only textures but also the quality of being nature-friendly.
Natural bamboo and wood build up the structures, and recycled pebble wash creates warm, textured pavements, all of which contribute to a sustainable design committed to environmental protection.
Each booth has an exclusive waterfront hammock that allows the guests to engage with sunshine and water in an enclosed private space and enjoy the beautiful view inside the hotel.
The tightly interwoven bamboo structures allow sunshine to penetrate through in the daytime.
When lights are turned on at night, the steel skeleton wrapped in bamboo strips, which stretches like the patterns of a leaf, reveals itself to the guests and renders the canopy into a giant banana leaf when one looks up, revealing the beauty of the structure.
After the sun sets, the wonderful nightlife at the beach club starts.
Light emits upwards from the “trunks,” invigorating the space, while the expansive canopies wrap up the light and separate it from other areas of the hotel to reduce the impact on the tranquility of the seaside.
The unique color and texture of bamboo-woven structures are coupled with diffusing light to create a night atmosphere, adding a touch of romance and warmth to the space.
The renewed beach club indulges its guests in the passion of Hainan Island from day to night in a way that is also integrated into nature.
The hotel sought creative design strategies, with the hope to refresh and activate the serene, slightly deserted outdoor beach area whilst introducing a young, fashionable lifestyle with socializing activities, as to turn it into a landmark in Haitang Bay and even in the wider city.
The renewed beach club provides a strong connection between different activity areas in the surroundings and forms a place for rendezvous, brimming with vigor and joy.
Bargoers, guests taking a sunbath, swimmers, and volleyball players are visually connected to each other.
The open space allows the users to throw themselves into a passionate vibe without taking away the sense of boundary that keeps them comfortable.
Project: Beach Club at The Sanya Edition
Architects: Various Associates
Lead designers: Qianyi Lin and Dongzi Yang
Design team: Jianpeng Liu, Zhichao Lin, Yue Zhang, Shiqi Li
Client: The Sanya Edition
Photographers: SFAP
