“Building a hotel is like carving a piece of jade. Through cutting, grinding, chiseling and polishing, step by step, the piece is endowed with a form, a character and a modest attitude towards the world.”
-- Yang Bangsheng
The hotel is located in the financial district of the East Street of Chengdu where is suffused both with modern vitality and historical profoundness. When the newly-minted Chinese brand Langbo joins hands with The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, a dialogue between old traditions and modern chic is staged, giving YANG, the designer, an opportunity to rethink and redefine Chinese style of travel and stay.
Themed by “life is like a play”, the sky lobby is accented by the huge metal screens behind the front desk. They are shaped like theater drapes, waiting for the staging of guests’ own stories.
Gentle by the look but tough in nature, this is why jade represents resilience and dignity in Chinese culture. This trait is interpreted by the designer with the full use of gently curved lines and surfaces, which are applied even on hard finishes like marble walls and metal screens.
To bring in local lifestyle, the hotel has replaced the conventional lobby lounge with an open tea house. The eye is drawn away from the lobby by a blooming “lotus flower” hung on the ceiling, which adds elegance and interest to the lounge.
Closer in, orderly arrayed wall scones and sofas with accents of red remind people of the Chinese style of hospitality, whereas low and wide leather or fabric furniture injects a hint of Western aesthetics.
The elegance of the East and the preciseness of the West collide yet blend with each other, demonstrating the tolerance and openness of the city.
The all-day dining restaurant evokes images of old times. Red brick walls and old-fashioned buffet floor patterns are reminiscent of the alleys in old districts. Pendant lights with fabric shades, artistic draperies in the corner, hearths, and modern dining chairs and tables create the subtle sensation that one is sitting in an old cafe, a space that manifests the urban elite’s and fashion followers’ relentless pursuit of the quality of life and art.
Ushered by archways arranged with a specific rhythm, guests will arrive in the Chinese restaurant, for which delicate jade green has set a silent and soothing tone. The fun of “play chess” is illustrated in every private dining room through the design of seats, flatware and decorative paintings. A piece of jade attached on the painting echoes the theme of the room and reinforces the cultural atmosphere.
Continuing the “play” theme of the lobby, the ballroom draws inspiration from the lines and colors of facial makeup in Sichuan Opera. Geometric patterns on the ceiling effectively conceal light sources under a clean surface, and deliver an undulating visual effect which enhances the sense of art.
Due to the low storey height, the swimming pool ceiling utilizes mirror metal sheets to create a reflection, so as to visually expand the space and make swimmers feel like under a starry sky.
Neither aggressive nor abstinent, the guest room feels just as soft and mild as polished jade. With austere colors, pure materials and generous layout, the designer tries to avoid any interruption, instead to foster the serenity, clarity and sense of belonging that travelers desire.
The Langbo Chengdu, in The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, aims to incorporate Oriental culture into modern life and to build a poetic relation between the hotel and the locality. By providing busy urbanite with a balanced lifestyle (dynamic yet quiet, outward and inward), YANG draws on the Chinese philosophy featuring modesty and resilience to upgrade guests’ experience of travel and stay.
