KALHA Hotel – “Unico” Village Renewal by Cplus
KALHA Hotel – “Unico” Village Renewal, surrounded by farmland and forests in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China, was designed by Cplus in 2024. The hotel provides a new living space for urban commuters visiting “Unico,” with its 10 guest room units forming a continuous system divided by courtyard walls while conforming to the surrounding sloped landscape.
Unico Village Community was Planned for City Dwellers
“Unico” was born to offer a new living possibility for city inhabitants. The first phase of the construction involves more than 60 vacant courtyards, each covering an area ranging from 200 to 400 square meters. 45 of these courtyards will be used for residential purposes and 10 will be served as hotels, in addition to a village hall, Dragon King Temple (reception), workshops, dining, gymnasiums, public restrooms, Unico office and staff quarters.
The Hotel Guests Can Enjoy Sweeping Mountain and Village Views
Different from the independent houses scattered in the village, KALHA Hotel is a continuous spatial system surrounded by walls. The hotel follows the terrain rising from the south to the north and extending horizontally on the slope to the north of the village. The panoramic view towards the east and south opens up to the village and the mountains.
KALHA Hotel appears to have no main facade from any direction, but rather a free and random form. The individual guest room units are grouped together like a small but diverse settlement. The settlement is enclosed by a series of walls and becomes a complete building again. The zigzag courtyard wall fits into the landscape, allowing the hotel to integrate organically with the old village.
KALHA Hotel Design Utilises Geometric Sculpture Appearance
The external walls not only contribute to the efficiency of management and service, but also give the hotel an essential visual identity. Both the courtyard walls and the guest room facades have been painted in a color close to the soil of the site, resembling geometric sculptures growing naturally out of the earth from a distance.
At the same time, there are rich spatial experiences within the walls and between the courtyards. The former village paths have been transformed into public streets inside the hotel, with pure walls and open spatial scales that can accommodate public events such as exhibitions, lectures and even small performances. In the future, this area will turn out to be the most dynamic place of the hotel.
Self-Opening Holes Created For Direct Contact with Nature
Each guest room has a relatively independent, inward-looking courtyard, which largely protects the privacy of the guests. The view from the room is full of plants in the courtyard and distant mountain scenery. In order to create more contact with nature, the architects have installed self-opening holes in the courtyard wall. There is also a staircase that leads to the roof, where, in good weather, guests can relax on the terrace and enjoy the stunning view of Unico.
Photography courtesy of Cplus
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