I O Hotel Reception Space by Chen Huacai and Xu Hezhan

Iron Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2021

I O Hotel Reception Space

by Chen Huacai and Xu Hezhan

A' Design Award 2021 Iron Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Awarded April 15, 2021
CLIENT: Eterno Design
Estimated Number of Design Views: 7,555
Verification code B14BE247B2 · Verify this award

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About I O Hotel Reception Space

I O Hotel is a hotel interior design located in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China. The hotel occupies the top floor of a commercial building in the downtown area and offers a panoramic view of the outdoor landscape. In the lobby, the original oblique roof structure was retained, and a glass ceiling was added to increase natural daylight. Perforated aluminum sheets soften the light and create an interplay of light and shadow. The interior covers 2500 square meters and holds 36 guest rooms. The material palette includes terrazzo, ultrathin stone, timber and leather.

Press Kit

Unique Properties: Situated on the top floor of a commercial building in the downtown area, the hotel offers a panoramic view of the outdoor landscape and a tranquil environment. In the lobby, the designers retained the original oblique interior roof structure, and added glass ceiling to enhance natural daylighting, and at the same time utilized perforated aluminum sheets to soften the light and produce interplay of light and shadows.
Dimensions & Packaging: The area of project is 2500 square meter.
Tags: Jupiter I, Zhangjiang, shadows, hotel, sloped roof structure, the Solar System
Production Technology: The interior is characterized by a diversified material palette consisting of terrazzo, deep-colored ultrathin stone materials, timber, and leather coverings, etc., which fuses softness and solidness and enriches textures of the space.
Main materials: perforated aluminum sheet, ultrathin stone materials, terrazzo, wooden veneer, back-painted glass, mosaic tile, stainless steel, wooden flooring, paint
Design Challenge: The staircases strengthen the three-dimensional visual impression of the space, and make the experience of going up and down more interesting.
It was very challenging to approach the rooms with a sloped roof structure. The design team turned an oblique angle between the interior roof and the wall into 90 degree, and added a skylight to introduce daylight. In this way, the re-imagined ceiling was endowed with both a simplistic form and rich details, and was made a highlight in the space.
Project Duration: Completion time: October 2019
Location: Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China
Operation Flow: Occupying a total area of 2500 sqm, the hotel has 36 distinctive guest rooms. Each guest room is an independent unit, and also an integral part of a whole system that provides diverse experiences, just like numerous rotating objects constitute the Solar System. Erecting opposite the Sheraton not far away, I O HOTEL embraces the coastline in its unique way.
Research: Zhanjiang, where the project is located, is a city in the southern part of China mainland, which boasts unparalleled coastline and spectacular view of tides.
By skillfully making use of light and shadows, structures and colors, the design team injected imagination into spatial scenes, which will attract the guests to experience and explore the unknown.
Inspiration: The hotel is named after IO (Jupiter I), which is the innermost of the fourGalilean moonsof the planetJupiter. IO is the most geologically active object in the Solar System.
The moon of IO is full of unknowns, changes and uncertainties. Those properties coincide with the designers' initial conception of the hotel. They refused to restrict the interior design to a certain style, but combined contrasting yet diverse design elements to bring more possibilities to urban hotels.
Image Credits: Photography: ETERNO /MGS