A speed project on modern, sustainable hostel design.
The 9 Huguo Hostel is located, as the name suggests, on Huguo Temple Street in Beijing, China. The site, a traditional Chinese courtyard(四合院) that belonged to the late Beijing Opera Artist, Mei Lanfang, now houses 20-24 visitors from all over the world.
Minutes away from the Forbidden City, Huguo Temple Street is quiet and one of the few undisturbed Hutongs (胡同: narrow alleys) in today’s Beijing. Nested in the intimate, introverted fabrics of the neighborhood, the architecture shows a demure sophistication: a plain façade; flemish bond brickwork; tall, clay-tiled slope roof; beams painted maroon with striking, gently worn patterns. Inside, a small courtyard is surrounded on all four sides by halls, the rigorous and intricate layout of which guarantees maximum privacy.
Taking the intimacy of the neighborhood into consideration, the design puts an emphasis on “everyday” activities such as doing laundry and showering. Out of respect for the vernacular condition, the hostel is designed as a non-intrusive entity. While it has a unified vocabulary illustrating essential Chinese tectonic elements, the design stands free from the limitation of stereotypical imagery, symbols and iconography.