SUNYATA Hotel Datong

Datong, Shanxi Client: goa

Datong is one of the first batch of National Historical and Cultural Cities，which was the first capital in Chinese history to implement the Lifang (ward) system on a large scale and in a planned manner.The hotel is located in the Southeast Yi Historical and Cultural Block, situated in the southeastern corner of the ancient city of Datong.SUNYATA Datong faced a dual mission: to be both a place providing experiences for travelers and an important urban building within the ancient city. At the beginning of the design, the architect clearly advocated: “The ancient city’s fabric should be fully respected, not confronted.” Therefore, the hotel’s architectural form does not compete sculpturally with the adjacent neighborhood but fully integrates into the ancient city’s pattern. Under the scale control of the Lifang community, it seeks rich variations in the internal space.