Reviving Hakka Culture: Kanglaibo Resort Hotel

Legang Sun Sun's Award-Winning Design Merges Tradition with Innovation

Legang Sun Sun's inspiration for the Kanglaibo Resort Hotel design was deeply rooted in the Hakka culture of the area where the hotel is located. The architectural symbol of the Hakka culture, a unique square enclosed building pattern, was incorporated into the hotel's design. Local stones and ceramics were used to create an enclosed space in the lobby, and traditional Hakka woodcut artworks were displayed throughout the hotel, forming a unique space temperament.

The Kanglaibo Resort Hotel, located in the Baianshan National Forest Park of Jiangxi Province, is not just a celebration of culture but also a marvel of innovation. The hotel is equipped with a hot spring bath in the air and each guest room, made possible by a unique hot spring water supply system centered on temperature control. This system not only ensures a remarkable tourist experience but also effectively saves natural hot spring resources.

The hotel, a 19-floor single-family building with a construction area of 16,000 square meters, is meticulously designed to provide a comfortable environment with comprehensive facilities. The vertical functional layout includes a front hall, service desk, lobby bar, breakfast restaurant, catering area, banquet hall, multi-function hall, conference room, guest rooms, and deluxe suites.

One of the notable features of the hotel is its unique lighting system. The cubic water-featured chandelier in the lobby, the streamlined chandeliers in the corridor, and the artistic lamps in different scenes become the visual focus of the hotel, filling the space with a three-dimensional feeling.

The design process, which took place from March to October 2020, was not without challenges. The hot spring bath in the air, a unique feature of the hotel, required careful planning and design to ensure the tourist experience while saving natural hot spring resources. The designer set the inner wall of the bath at an angle of 70 degrees with the water level to reduce the total volume of the pool water. The exterior walls of the bath were insulated by asbestos layers and acrylics to decrease the cooling rate of the water. An intermittent way of adding water was used to form an effective water flow control system, which can save 40% of the hot spring resources compared with a similar bath.

Legang Sun Sun's Kanglaibo Resort Hotel is a shining example of how design can honor tradition while embracing innovation. The hotel's unique personality, derived from the ethnic-cultural characteristics of the area, and its commitment to resource conservation through its water-saving system, make it a deserving recipient of the Golden A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2021. The copyrights for this design belong to Shenzhen 9tang Design Institute, 2020.