the Ancient City of Suzhou

Chapter I Traversing by Water

The Ming Dynasty painter Shen Zhou wrote that southern China, known at the time as the state of Wu, was defined by its relationship to the water which surrounds it. From the Song Dynasty to today, the urban layout of Suzhou - long famed for its numerous canals - has fundamentally evolved. During the early 20th century, there were still many lakes in the Yangcheng and Wujiang districts of Suzhou, creating a distinctive landform within the city.

When looking at a map of Suzhou, its unique urban layout becomes evident –water interweaves ubiquitously throughout the city, its canals providing an added layer of urban circulation: people here can either walk the streets or traverse the city by boat. Many picturesque neighborhoods have been established over the years, such as the “Fisherman’s Quarter” in the Taihu Lake Basin, where writers and painters have traditionally resided, having built modest houses by the water. People who caught fish on the river could immediately sell them to residents adjacent to the water through their windows. Zhang Haihua remembers buying vegetables when he was young, by taking a basket and setting out on a boat.

Boating on canals, as an important mode of transportation in ancient Suzhou, served as a key frame of reference for the design of the hotel. Zhang has provided for an informal lounge space to one side of the lobby area, at a slightly lower level than the main floor. In doing so, it recalls the traditional height one would have when observing the city by boat, while creating an intimate relationship with the external courtyard landscape.

Chapter II Alleyway Light and Shadow

Because Hua Xu boutique hotel is located in a historical district, the exterior of the building has been strictly controlled to comply with planning guidelines - grey and white tones have been used to synchronize with the traditional palette of Suzhou architecture, while also augmenting the contrast between light and shadow, and interior and exterior. A covered patio area has been incorporated which serves as a transition space between the courtyard and the main space of the hotel, a common element in ancient Jiangnan architecture also rooted in Zhang’s memory. The deep eaves effectively frame the space, integrating the sky, the earth, the architecture, and the people who inhabit it. Throughout the public spaces in Hua Xu boutique hotel, Zhang has taken inspiration from the tall, narrow alleyways of Suzhou’s ancient city. Their dramatic scale has left a strong impression in his memory, with their bold shadows and filtered light. So, he has reinterpreted aspects of their proportions and visual impact here in the hotel.

The British architectural writer Kenneth Frampton commented on the work of Japanese architect Tadao Ando, saying that he actively upheld the progressive legacy of modernism, but developed his own version of it in order to emphasize unique regional characteristics. This is the same

conceptual approach taken here by Zhang, whose aim was to create a contemporary hotel which also evoked the feeling of traditional life and aesthetics south of the Yangtze River, referencing the tactile materiality of its buildings and their closeness to the beauty of the natural environment.

In Zhang’s view, Jiangnan architecture is unique in the way it effortlessly connects interior spaces to the surrounding nature, and achieves an elegant unity in function, spirit, time, and use. He wanted to capture not simply the scale and materiality of the original architecture, but the special atmosphere of the ancient city, with its long shadows, narrow alleys, and an uncanny sense of traveling back in time. The Hua Xu boutique hotel has been conceived with a series of metaphors in mind which have served as guiding principles for its design: at one level, the project represents the relationship between Suzhou’s people and the ancient city, while the inner courtyard expresses the link between the city and the local mountains and forests. This in turn serves to evoke the relationship between man and nature in the context of Jiangnan culture, in a spirit of awe and respect for the natural world.

While Suzhou gardens and architecture are no longer seen symbolically as they once were in ancient times, they can still be appreciated at an abstract level according to each individual’s life experience and emotional understanding.

Through the imaginative use of contemporary materials, techniques, and furnishings, the space undergoes a kind of alchemical transformation where the area surrounding the hotel is encapsulated in microcosm. For Zhang, Hua Xu boutique hotel represents a spatial experiment, where he set out to infuse the original spirit of traditional Jiangnan culture within a design that belongs to guests of the modern era, creating a new sense of place from the city’s ancient roots.

Project information:

Project name: Hua Xu Boutique Hotel

Project address: Pingjiang Street, Suzhou City

Project area: 1000m2

Courtyard area: 300m2

Interior and landscape design: Z+H Renhai Design

Design Director: Zhang Haihua

Design team: Wang Xiao, Sun Huihui

Soft furnishing consultant: Suzhou Uliving Trading Co., Ltd.

Project photography: Cai Yunpu

Project videography: Q-visual