Urbanus: Maillen Hotel and Apartment

'maillen hotel and apartment' by urbanus, shenzhen, china
image © wu qiwei
all images courtesy of urbanus 

shenzhen and beijing-based firm urbanus have recently completed the 'maillen hotel and apartment', a residential complex and
hotel accommodation positioned at the base of a hill in shekou within shenzhen, china. contained within a zigzagged footprint,
over 25,000 square meters of usable interior space is constructed upon a 13,000 square meter site. returning to the fundamental
ideals within chinese living as expressed in the saying 'hills outside hills, and gardens inside gardens', the continuous and repeating
spaces and form evokes the imagery found in traditional villages and mountainous landscapes. accessed through intermittent vertical breaks,
the relationships between nature and construct are blurred as dwellers enter vegetated courtyards.

growing out of the terraced and sloped landscape, the attached building volumes feature are placed at angles with rooflines
which seamlessly transition from one volume to the next. each unit offers views to smaller courts with ponds, and gardens
with bamboo, pine and plum blossoms. walkways pass over the water to link each area.


vegetated courtyards
image © wu qiwei


pathways cross over ponds and pass gardens
image © wu qiwei


angled roofline connects and continues from one volume to the next
image © wu qiwei


(left) aerial view of lifted volume
(right) pathway through internal courtyard
images © wu qiwei


hotelimage © wu qiwei


aerial view of the complex and surrounding context
image © wu qiwei


model

floor plan / level 0


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elevation


elevation

project info:

project location: shekou, shenzhen, china
site: 13.198 hec
floor area: 25,142 sq.m
design period: 2006-2007
construction period: 2007
client: shenzhen china merchants real-estates co., ltd