To this very day, large swathes of China‘s inner cities are being bulldozed away in the name of progress and prosperity, but luckily here in Guangzhou, things are a little different. Shishu is a densely built residential neighbourhood in the city’s historic downtown district, and has so far escaped such a fate, preserving much of its original labyrinthine infrastructure. Tucked away in this intricate urban fabric is the newly revamped Far & Near boutique hotel. Occupying a modern seven-storey concrete structure, the property owner tapped Japanese practice kooo architects to come up with a new interior design. The building has been stripped to its core, revealing much of its concrete shell, and which now anchors the new design. Upon entering the double height lobby, guests find themselves in a setting which sees concrete beams and a galvanised metal ceiling paired with rustic tiles and modern yet simple timber furnishings.
The understated design codes obviously extend across the premises, and is also evident in each of the property’s twelve guestrooms. The pads come in two categories, and the largest ones have an upper floor for sleeping and a lower floor with living room and bathroom. This double height is encased by floor-to-ceiling frosted channel glass which easily adapts to both cold weather and hot sunny days. Furnishings are sourced from IKEA and the bathroom is equipped with TOTO‘s advanced toilet fixtures, boosting the sense of modern comfort and style. The facilities at Far & Near include a communal dining room, a laundry room, and last but not least, a sunny rooftop terrace where guests can sit back, relax and take in the sweeping views of the neighbourhood.
Far & Near
Nanhao Jie 36 (Shishu)
510110 Guangzhou
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
