HBA designs Shangri La Hotel in Beijing's tallest tower

Styling the interiors of Shangri-la’s flagship 5-star hotel and luxurious office spaces in Beijing’s tallest building confronted interior designers HBA with a soaring challenge.  With 81 floors and 330-meters above the China World Trade Centre, views over the historic city center are clearly unrivalled.

“Key features were the 200 intimate rooms,” HBA principal ILija Karlusic said. “The amazing panorama was used to maximum effect by re-organizing layouts ensuring views from the bed, lounge and desk.

“But as they are so high up in the building, we also wanted to cocoon guests, to give them a sense of security. The answer was a wraparound feature from the floor, across the ceiling to the other side of the room, literally cocooning the space,” added Paulo Dias, HBA Hong Kong’s associate director on the project.

Adding some complexity to the challenge was the tapered design of the building, by SOM architects, making the bedrooms space smaller the further up the building.

Corridor details were also important for this project, making each of the 50 square meter club-style rooms “feel special” with individual entrances having a distinctive feature and foyer welcoming guests.

The overall design philosophy was in line with the Shangri-la brand, in opulent, warm golds and reds with the signature mahogany and rich woodwork. But still, a key challenge was merging the opulent interiors with the contemporary exterior and its detailed façade – essentially “making the interiors work with the outside”.  A ‘pièce de résistance’ in the lobby is a dramatic 100,000 tiger-eye wall feature made from semi-precious stones.

The wavy abstract feature may appear decadent, but it serves a genuine purpose. “The lobby area was a convoluted space, shared by both the hotel and offices, with the building’s sheer height requiring numerous lifts,” explained Mr. Karlusic.  “We worked round this by extending each corner of the awkward lift shaft space, so that it created more of an even square – and then lit up each corner to create a feature and continuity for the space.”

“A lattice work inspired by old Chinese lantern patterns was designed and back lit which gave a bright effect during the day and a dramatic effect at nighttime. On top, in the outer edges of the lobby corners large champagne bubble style chandeliers were added, with seating spacing underneath,” said Mr. Dias.

Another stunning feature is the stylish infinity pool, with amazing views from the 70th floor. Metallic blues and greys create a “very contemporary space” in sharp contrast with the hotel’s classical golds and reds.

Shangri-la was also keen to make the international offices feel luxurious and “not so corporate”, so these designs were in similar colours and fabrics to the rooms and hotel interiors.

The project was necessarily long “because of the sheer enormity of it”, occupying eight designers for nearly three years. The end result is a stunning icon for Beijing.  When the first phase of the China World Trade Center opened in 1990, it caused a sensation as the flagship for what became Beijing’s Central Business District between Jianguomenwai Avenue and the East Third Ring Road.

More than 100 Fortune 500 companies set up shop in China World, instantly establishing the Central Business District as the center of gravity for international business in Beijing.

It has maintained that leading role for two decades, and far from slowing down in the midst of recent economic turmoil, the Central Business District’s  development has now extended on completion of this phase of the China World Tower – with Shangri-la’s flagship at the hub.

http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/beijing/chinaworldsummitwing

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