Today I stumbled upon what claims to be "China's first neutral carbon hotel" on the way back from lunch.
Ironically both foreign owners approved of naming the establishment
urbn hotel, subjecting the joint to a Chinese fallacy which even the government itself is calling an end to:
engrish.
Set in an old factory warehouse, the inconspicuous cloister slumbers in a serene courtyard setting with large deciduous trees lining the south fence. The reception area wall is completely decked with vintage luggage bags precariously stacked one upon the other. We wrangled a tour using our canto skills, and the manager brought us up to two rooms in the four story construction. The interior of the rooms themselves has a modernistic space-efficient design with a very Zaha Hadid circa 5 years ago feel to it: continuous angles stretching throughout the 11 foot ceiling rooms. Their brochure claims to use local and recycled materials- totally believable considering how much rebuilding Shanghai is experiencing right now. They also boast
sustainable design solutions in the building process, like passive solar louvers and rain water retention basins. Not quite the points solar technology would redeem, but its a start. On the flipside, a closer look at the craftsmanship exposes the little-things-that-count detail that slipped by the architect. A wonderful sunken lounge area pimped out the room we inspected, but stepping down to the area was an effort: the staircase to the area was substantially too high; slopping up and down took major effort. The untreated wood around the bathroom sink area is a nice antique touch, but in a year's time the material will be rotted out due to Shanghai's humid weather. Recommendation: treat the wood with some
eco-happy goo. As for the step, cut two 5-inch steps with a
tread deep enough to accomodate bigass feet and folks in a state of drunken stupor.
To sum up, hats off to this duo for stepping up the game in what otherwise seems to be an anti-green rat race (after all, its still about the bottom line). Hopefully the QC on the service will be as revolutionary as their green design building.
Labels: architecture
