RISING SUN HOTEL
15 Oct 2014
A new Beijing hotel will rise like the morning sun when it opens in November, with its glass cladding to be lit up at night by hydroelectric-powered LED lights.
Beijing will soon see the opening of the Sunrise Kempinski, a glowing orb-shaped hotel clad in glass and lit up at night by hydroelectric-powered LED lights.
Characteristic of sculptural Chinese architecture, the design for the luminous hotel is derived from traditional Chinese auspicious symbolism. The nearly 320-foot-tall hotel is sited on Beijing's Yangqi Lake and was designed by Shanghai Huadu Architect Design Co.
The Sunrise Kempinski Hotel was designed to look like the rising sun, an image symbolic of China’s meteoric rise in the global economy.
The hotel’s 10,000 glass panels are angled to reflect the different colors of the landscape: the top third of the facade reflects the colors of the sky; the middle section reflects the image of Yanshan Mountain; and the bottom portion reflects Yangqi Lake.
The semi-circular hotel entrance evokes the mouth of a fish, which symbolises prosperity. From the side, the hotel looks like a scallop, another auspicious symbol representing fortune.
The nearly 200,000-square-foot hotel sits on a massive 3,460-acre complex. The complex comprises 12 boutique hotels, 14 restaurants and bars, a private marina, pagoda, recreational and fitness facilities, as well as a kids club.
The grounds took two years to build with the help of over 9,300 construction workers. The Sunrise Kempinksi Hotel will house 306 guestrooms and suites on 21 floors and is slated to open in mid-November.