The Grand Hyatt Hefei design was inspired by the romantic tale penned by Tao Yuanming, a Taoist philosopher, who lived centuries ago. Drifting downstream along a river with reeded marshland on one side and sheer cliff face with dense vegetation on the other, a lone fisherman chanced upon a cave through the cliff face. On entering the cave he discovered a paradise with peach blossom blooming everywhere and the villagers very peaceful, joyous and content with their lives. He decided to stay on but after a while he missed his family and wanted to share this wonderful discovery, so he went out of the cave to fetch them. However when he tried to return to this “Shangri-la” sadly he was unable to find the cave entrance again. The hotel recreated this enchanting journey for the guests. The interior designer H. L. Lim – LTW Designworks has woven an intriguing tale of time and place, beautifully bridging past, present and fantasy.
Strategically located within the fast developing central business district of Hefei Zhengwu District, the arrival entry lobby, depicts scenes of a flowing river with ripple patterned stone flooring and the natural surroundings experienced by the fisherman. The lift lobby entrance is intended to be the cave, where from the guests ascend to level 40 of the 55 story sky scraper, arriving in a “Garden of Eden” with theatrical skyline views of the city.
The hotel’s public spaces, namely the lobby, lobby lounge and bar, the executive lounge, all-day dining restaurant, as well as the Chinese restaurant, the sky pool and fitness centre, are all located on levels 38-41, with the hotel guestrooms and suites spread over levels 43-55. The design of the interior is derived from the famous Hui Pai (style) architecture of Anhui province, where Hefei is located. Predominant use of grey and white accented with dark timber denotes the understated approach.
40 years of LTW
H.L.Lim: “After 40 years and nearing 200 hotels, LTW could continue to design hotels with the same direction and passion, but for me personally, I would like to re-visit the reason for my venturing into the field of Interior Design in the first place.”
“From a very young age, I have been exposed to art as my parents were both painters. In my high school years, I continued to develop my interest in art, and eventually I landed in London to pursue fine arts. After 3 years in an art school, I developed an interest to apply art into the living environment, art with functionality. In order to achieve this, I needed to acquire the ‘skill’, so eventually I ended up in an interior design college. As one would say ‘the rest is history’.”
“Each of our hotels have been designed with a unique individuality and we will never repeat the same design. This will not change, but I would like to use Fine Art and Craftmanship as the central theme for future projects,” according to the great designer.
Original article courtesy OBJEKT©International
