A cluster of rustic rooms located on the banks of the Yellow River in Dawan Village, China, forms the recently opened Lost Villa Boutique Hotel designed by DAS Lab to blend into the desert landscape. Rather than impose a striking landmark on the site, the project draws from local architecture to create a series of buildings that blend into the landscape, balancing the man-made with the natural environment.
The hotel in made up of 15 rooms, each of which is injected with different characteristics in addition to framed views of the Yellow River on one side, or the forest on the other. By creating different room types, DAS Lab tried to experiment on different models, scales and materials to re-evaluate the relationship between human and nature.
In reference to local houses, the hotel is designed with flat roofs, terraces, courtyards and reed-topped eaves galleries to encourage more outdoor activities. The studio utilized a special treatment of cement mortar on the exterior walls to restore the texture of rammed earth wall from local buildings, so the architecture will look beautifully “old” after being exposed to wind and rain.
The Dawan Village, located in the east longitude 105.19, in the north latitude of 37.50. The lowest temperature in winter reaches minus 20°. Therefore, except the large-scale floor-to-ceiling windows to the landscape, the other facades have limited openings. By doing this, DAS Lab re-examines the relationship between openings, light and space to create welcoming yet private apartments.
Light plays a key role in the interiors of the hotel. With the pared-back use of color and decoration, the visual display of light and shadow takes center stage as it changes throughout the day.
