Jury commended the project for its “sensitive and inventive remodeling of a modest traditional building in a remote setting,” stating that it was “a cross between a beehive, a climbing frame, and a pagoda” and a “beautiful hybrid idea executed with poetry, sophistication, and warmth.”
Project description by Atelier tao+c
Capsule Hotel and Bookstore in Village Qinglongwu is located in the deep forests of Tonglu in Zhejiang province. It was an old house of wood structure and mud walls, covering an area of 232 sqm and a height of 7.2 meters. Atelier tao+c redesigned and regenerated this old building by inserting a capsule hotel that can accommodate 20 people, a community bookstore and library.
The architects made restrained openings on the exterior wall to maintain the original simplicity of the building. The original floors and partition walls were removed, opened the ground floor for library, placed two independent “floating” structure above the open spaces, which will be used separately for male and female guests. Each of the male and female “buildings” is equipped with ten capsule rooms and one bathroom. The modular capsule rooms are hidden and enclosed by bookshelves, giving more privacy to the accommodation area. At the same time, the staggering floor slabs formed a few “double-height” spaces in the accommodation areas,it is also where people’s point of sight is above the floor height.
Given the amazing natural landscape at the east end of the building, the architect cut the whole gable wall on this side and embedded a transparent structure of wooden frames and corrugated polycarbonate panels, introducing the green of the mountains and forests into the interior. At twilight, the whole building is illuminated by the light from the indoor, and the building itself becomes a light house, offering a slice of warmth to the calmness of the night.
