DESIGN
says Hill . The quality of the materials gives a sense of timelessness and history — the fragrance of the wood , the handprints visible in the handmade bricks , the exquisite carvings .
“ The contemporary guest suite is an essential building block in the masterplan ,” Hill says . “ Our design is a contemporary reworking of the antique house typology with its sequence of rooms looking inwards onto landscaped courtyards .”
HIDDEN UPDATES The key challenge here was to meet modern expectations of comfort without loss of authenticity . Most of the modernization is hidden to the guest , says Hill , including high-performance insulation sandwiched within timber panels and perforations in the outer brick skin that increase daylight in the interior without detracting from their characteristic monolithic appearance .
Pearson ’ s landscaping adds to that experience . “ We wanted each ( villa ) garden to feel like a glade within the camphor woodland … providing sensual spaces for activity and contemplation and reflecting each season within the planting . We have used primarily Chinese native plants , many of which have significant symbolic meaning such as the Heavenly Bamboo , hydrangeas , irises and the welcome of fruit trees at every building entrance . Each villa contains a peony , once the national flower of China and known as the king of flowers , symbolizing honor , wealth and aristocracy , as well as love , affection and feminine beauty . Unusually for China , the whole site has been planted in a naturalistic style so that it feels deeply informal and relaxed ,” says Pearson .
Thirteen of the antique dwellings , now fourbedroom villas with pools , are seamlessly interspersed throughout Amanyangyun ’ s expansive grounds .
Some evidence of the stone-by-stone disassembly and rebuilding of 50 antique houses
The Bar offers crafted cocktails , afternoon tea and live jazz .
BUT WILL IT BRING RETURNS ? Aman ’ s Fasel will not be drawn into discussions on the project ’ s financials and how long it would take to see returns , if at all . He acknowledges the hugely competitive Shanghai market – Savills Research & Consultancy shows a declining AOR to 64 %
38 hotelsmag . com March 2018