The Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing
Architecture that Defines Sunrise
The Sunrise Kempinski Hotel is situated on the banks of Yanqi Lake, 60km north of Beijing city, China. The hotel is also popularly known as Beijing Yanqi Lake International Conference Centre and a viewing gallery named Yanqi Pagoda.
It is considered as a bright building similar to a sunrise in Beijing city. The 97m tall building consists of 21 floors and one of its floors (third floor) has a free-form shape that depicts the idea of a sun being lifted by the cloud. It observers the rising sun has been chosen to depict harmony, unity and infinity, where relates also as the fast development economy of China. The building shape also resembles as a scallop that represent fortune in Chinese culture.
Beijing's most iconic building, Sunrise Kempinski hotel is designed by Chief Designer Zhang Hai Ao and his team from Shanghai Huadu Architect Design Company. It was founded in 2004. It is a comprehensive design company with first-rate architecture and engineering qualification issued by the State Construction Ministry.
Prosperity Sun Building
The glass facade is one of its outstanding features, approximately 10,000 pieces of glass panels and spanning 18,075m2 (194,558ft2) which reflects nature lights to its surroundings at different levels.
The cultural elements of the iconic building incorporates in the design includes entrance. It is shaped as the mouth of a fish which symbolize prosperity. The side of the building is inspired by the concept of Chinese panes. The building can resist its capability of withstanding up to level-8 (during earthquake).
In the past, Chinese people would stand in awe of the sun, which they believed to reflect the core values of Chinese philosophy that mankind is an integral part of nature and in order to be harmonious, nature should be respected. "We not only have to consider the 'connection' between the main building and the environment; it is a hotel complex that also involves a private island, so, a vivid image needs to be created for the guests - resulting in, when a guest looks at Yanqi Lake Kempinski from Yanqi Island, it will really give our guests the beautiful picture of the sunrise and sunset," said Zhang.
Sun-shaped Construction
9,300 construction workers took part in the construction of Yanqi Lake Kempinski Hotel Beijing. It took 24 months to complete the huge building. The building was constructed with reinforced concrete and all-glass exterior in order to give the best blend between the building and the natural environment.
Zhang said, "People may ask, 'How about light pollution in this kind of all-glass construction?' Of course we should be very cautious with this issue, especially where it will influence the long-term development of Huairou district. Before the decision was made to go ahead with this building design, we had to run many tests and check to ensure that this building will not be a contributor to air pollution in this area."
Behind the Sun Wall Structure
Zhang worked with his team of 60 designers from across the globe, including UK, Italy, Spain, US, Holland and Philippines. They have spent 60 days to develop the design of this amazing building. "We had an international team because we needed a critical view from people outside of China to give their opinion on modern contemporary Chinese architectural design and to enable us to broaden our ideas on how we can use our design to showcase the Chinese culture to the world," said Zhang.
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Eight symmetrical but differently sized transverse arch columns extend from the front to the back of the structure, surrounding its reinforced-concrete core. Three longitudinal arches encircle the sides of the building and tie into horizontal steel ring beams at each floor level. While many of the glass panels are rectangular, the panels located on the portions of the building that appear to curve in two directions at once were formed by triangular glass sections, Zhang explained. Precise mathematical calculations were required to ensure the proper fit and integrity
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of these glass sections. Installation of the curtain wall took six months and was performed by machinery that determined the spatial coordinates of each corner's point in three dimensions using a Global Positioning System (GPS) locator, "in order to achieve the integrity of the overall modeling," Zhang said.
Horizontal and Vertical Building
The main structure of the hotel is a mixed-frame system comprising concrete-filled, tubular-column steel beams that are arranged in an arc along the building's exterior and a mixed structural system for the interior. The interior system includes a reinforced-concrete core wall, according Zhang.
The front and back of the building contains eight symmetrical albeit differently sized oval-shaped transverse arch columns. The sides feature three circular, longitudinal arches, according to Zhang. "Horizontally, the outer-ring steel beams of each floor are designed as oval planes with well-distributed differences in size," Zhang said. The longitudinal arches cross with the horizontal oval planes to create a type of meshwork, which becomes a "lantern-shaped structural framework," he explained.
The pattern of this structural framework fulfills the functional requirements of the architecture and creates the circular profile of the building; it also bears the weight of the structure and absorbs part of the horizontal forces, according to Zhang. This support is complemented by the reinforced-concrete core walls, which have steel elements built within them to "provide strong support to the building horizontally and vertically," Zhang said.
Sustainability Wing
Solar photovoltaic panels fitted to the roof, exterior and other exposed parts of the building will produce clean energy. Solar power from the Yanqi Lake's solar PV panels located next to the hotel will also be use for the LED lighting systems. The four layered glass panels used for the building's facade will help to in reduce energy consumption. It is also the first hotel in China to own a gas power generation system for supply of heating and cooling to the entire building.
The round shape of the hotel will not tamper with the natural flow of wind. The entire building is equipped with an indoor air quality monitoring system and central air-conditioning system. Air quality in the underground garage will be kept in check using carbon monoxide concentration monitoring system and an automatic start-stop fan.
Ruth Asawa, Atrium
Interior design of the building is inspired by the concept of framing. The central attraction of the hotel's lobby is a custom-designed art feature made with a huge number of round glass spectrums hanging on stainless-steel cables to almost to reach the ground from the ceiling. The art feature set around the staircase, abstractly reflects the exterior outline of the mountainous landscape are attractive factors. Each of the panels used in the lobby bears a unique design, which appears differently from different angles. Panels are set apart and placed behind one another in a layered form. The lobby has stone flooring.
A large-scale three-dimensional wall adorned with geometric three dimensional frames of different sizes is the main feature of the four-storey atrium space, which houses the staircase connecting the second floor of the building. The wall has a stone frame and integrated lighting. A wire-sculpted lighting feature inspired by Ruth Asawa hangs in the atrium.
Luxury Stay
Room and suite sizes range from 40m² to 338m². The flooring is of honey golden wood and the furniture is made of dark and golden brown zebrano with mirror and metals. The rooms have a monolithic wooden frame around the bed. The split bathroom features a bathtub and shower and is encased in smoked glass. The Presidential Suite features a recessed ceiling, French walnut wood floors and slanted mirror-lined friezes around the ceiling and air vents. The Suite walls feature Jackson Pollock-style artworks.
The second floor of the building provides a connection to the ballroom and meeting rooms. The pre-function space of the ballroom area features a two-storey-high feature wall. The wall design comprises of various linear sections composed of interchanging pieces of metal and wood. The design gives the wall a continuous and sloped rippling effect throughout.
PR function area is framed by a row of monolithic rectangular columns standing in front of the feature wall. The ceiling has recesses from which large-scale lanterns are suspended. The lanterns are encased within three-dimensional irregular geometric frames. The meeting room wall panels use velvet upholstery. The ceiling of the room features a grid of square light alcoves. Within each square alcove is a purple toned crystal chandelier.
Eco Friendly Sun Rise Building
Environmental protection and sustainable development were main considerations, and all types of advanced environmental protection technology were used in the construction of the building. Compared to other shaped building in Chine, the round shape of the building will not change the wind environment. On the contrary, the shape of the building will help to maintain the original wind environment and the wind plays a key role in the healthy growth of plants
Yanqi Lake Kempinski is probably the first hotel in China that owns the CCHP (Combined Cooling, Heating and Power) Systems Applications, which uses natural gas as the main fuel to supply heating and cooling to the hotel. It is also the first hotel in China to use the Gas Power Generation System to reduce energy consumption.
Kempinski Prestigious Hotel
Kempinski Hotels is Europe's oldest luxury hotel group Kempinski is found in 1897. Kempinski is a rich heritage of impeccable personal service and superb hospitality is complemented by the exclusivity and individuality of its properties. Kempinski now manages a portfolio of 74 five-star hotels in 31 countries and continues to add new properties in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Each one reflects the strength and success of the Kempinski brand without losing sight of its heritage. The portfolio comprises historic landmark properties, award-winning urban lifestyle hotels, outstanding resorts, and prestigious residences. Each one is imbued with the quality guests have come to expect from Kempinski while embracing the cultural traditions of its location. Kempinski is a founding member of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world's largest alliance of independent hotel brands, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2014.
Fact Sheet
Project Name: Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing
Contractors: Wilson Associates, Rockwellgroup, and Hirsch Bedner Associates
Desgine: Shanghai Huadu Architect Design Company.
Interiors : DiLeonardo
Area: 513,202 SFT
Conference space: 89000 SFT
Facilities: Nine restaurants and bars, two spas, fitness centre and kidcs club.