Beijing firm MONOLITH ARCHITECTS transformed an abandoned industrial dormitory in Shangyou County into Ten Times Hotel, a light-filled accommodation that combines nature and rural vernacular architecture. The studio’s founder Lei Mao shares more about the unique project

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Design Anthology: Where is Ten Times Hotel?

Lei Mao: Ten Times Hotel is in Shangyou County, a county of Ganzhou in China’s south-east province of Jiangxi. The site is near Yangming lake and building is within the compound of an abandoned hydropower station. The office buildings and dormitories have been abandoned for two decades, and now they’re all included in the city government’s updated tourism development plan.

What makes the location unique?

The location is almost the highest point of the entire factory compound, with views onto the river, mountain or town, depending on which side of the building you’re looking out from. There’s only one stepped path leading up the building from the street level.

Can you tell us about your overall design concept for the hotel?

Our design focuses on the site and the construction process. On a practical level, Chinese rural architecture and construction are usually determined by budget and based on regional craft and techniques. Commonly used materials like steel, aluminium-framed windows , brick, concrete and plywood have become unique symbols of rural architecture and we used these to form the design language.

We were called on to re-design the original dormitory building, so we used the original external steel frame as the basic structure, which sets up a new facade for the old building and also provides structural support for the new roof and attic. The design retains the basic shape and volume of the original building, but the new glass facade transforms the overall image of the building and also turns the semi-outdoor corridor space into an indoor space, thereby accentuating the relationship between the internal and external spaces. Most importantly, our design makes the indoor spaces brighter — we partially opened up the exterior walls of the original 12 rooms (each 15-square-metres big), thus turning the spaces into open, bright and comfortable guest rooms that are completely connected with the surrounding environment.

In terms of the new building, we tried to create a large warehouse structure that would ‘cover’ the existing building elements, meaning that the inside walls can be completely demolished in future and the building can become a big, empty space. This allows the building to have many possibilities based on the future of the area. We imagine that without its interior walls the building could be used as an art gallery or theatre.

What kind of traveller do you think this hotel will appeal to most?

I think Ten Times will appeal to younger travellers who are looking to get out of the city and spend time in nature — there’s such a strong connection to the environment here. We’ve preserved the three big trees and incorporated them into the building, and even when you’re inside you’re always connect to the nature outside.

Images / Lei Mao