08 APRIL 2023

Edition, luxury boutique hotel brand affiliated to Marriott, entrusted Various Associates to upgrade the beach club of its first hotel opened in China, known as The Sanya Edition.

Located at the picturesque Haitang Bay, The Sanya Edition enjoys a first-class beach and a fascinating sea view. Together with natural coconut groves, it creates a strong vibe unique to Hainan and brings unprecedented leisure experience for the guests. As every EDITION hotel embraces local aesthetic features, they're distinguished from each other while all sharing an iconic brand identity. The aesthetics of The Sanya Edition is defined by lush greenery, textured materials in original colors, and soft lighting.

As Various Associates took on the project, the primary consideration was how to create a tasteful, cozy and relaxing venue for socializing while incorporating the inviting natural landscape of Sanya and the aesthetics into the design.

Through low-impact design interventions, the new structures blend with the existing landscapes and protected trees on the site, and echo the expansive, azure Haitang Bay across the coconut groves. The beach club "grows" from a site enclosed by the existing plants, which are the soul of the new space.

The hotel sought creative design strategies, with the hope to refresh and activate the serene, slightly deserted outdoor beach area whilst introducing young, fashionable lifestyle and socializing activities, so as to turn it into a landmark in Haitang Bay and even in the wider city.

The renewed beach club provides a strong connection among different activity areas in the surroundings and forms a rendezvous brimming with vigor and joy. Bar goers, guests taking a sunbath, swimmers and volleyball players are not visually blocked from each other. The open space allows the users to throw themselves into a passionate vibe without taking away the sense of boundary that keeps them comfortable.

Upbeat DJs bring a musical feast from early afternoon, which infuses vitality into the area from day to night along with diversified beach activities.

"Under the Tree" is the design concept of the project. It conveys the design team's intention to create a comfortable, unrestrained space. The continuous bamboo-woven structures consist of five overlapping tree-like canopies with different heights and forms. Their organic and natural curved profiles merge beautifully into the lush nature.

Photo: SFAP