WoWA Architecture's Award-Winning "Haikou Bay" Hotel

Revolutionizing Hotel Design with Sea-Inspired Elements

WoWA Architecture, the design team behind the Haikou Bay hotel, drew their inspiration from the sea. The hotel, facing the ocean, incorporates elements of "Sails" in its design to satisfy urban view corridors and building configuration needs. The waving "S" shape building plan layout creates a unique interface between the city and nature, dividing the hotel into different function zones. Sea waves serve as the form inspirations for the facade design and the arrival entrance gate.

The Haikou Bay hotel stands out with its five-star rating and unique "Sail" concept. The "S" shape massing animates the interface between the city and nature. The long building massing is cut by three urban view corridors to allow visual porosity, and edges are sloped to create dynamic forms. The sea-facing facades mimic ocean waves, while the urban side facades emphasize horizontal motions. The hotel's ballroom is oval-shaped with a spiral ramp encouraging visitors on the green roof for public activities.

The building is primarily constructed out of stone, steel, concrete, glass, metal, and wood. The design team used parametric design tools for massing studies, gross floor area calculation, ocean view analysis, facade pattern control, room module generation with modifications to landscape configuration studies. These tools helped the team find the right design balance faster based on scientific analysis and aesthetic preferences.

The hotel is 48m in height, and the Gross Floor Area (GFA) is 118,549.0 sqm, including an above-grade area of 68,972.0 sqm and a below-grade area of 49,577.0 sqm. Each wing is slightly more than 200m long, with each tall hotel massing, the sail, no longer than 70m in length to allow urban view corridor to cut through the long site for decent porosity. The hotel has a single-loaded corridor layout, with the average building depth being 14m, like a ribbon.

The design team faced several challenges during the design process, including ensuring all guestrooms had full ocean views, which resulted in a long building blocking the views. Three urban view corridors were requested by the city to allow porosity, and the project had to look like one integrated building. The team created the "wave" gate to link the cut and pronounce the arrival. Zoning code allowing 20% of site coverage and 40m building height were also challenges to satisfy, requiring negotiation with the city to release height allowance to achieve the code.

In conclusion, WoWA Architecture's innovative design for the Haikou Bay hotel is a testament to the power of design inspiration and the use of advanced technology in architecture. The design team's ability to overcome challenges and create a unique, sea-inspired design has earned them well-deserved recognition in the form of the Golden A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award.