Shuangting Garden - Shanghai Sukhothai Hotel outdoor space renovation

The Sukhothai Hotel name derives from Sukhothai, the first independent dynasty in Thai history, meaning dawn of happiness. In 2017 the brand opened its first branch in central Shanghai as an urban oasis, aiming to convey Southeast Asian hospitality to Chinese city dwellers through modern design language. In 2020, to give guests a better natural atmosphere, the owner commissioned Lukstudio to renovate part of the hotel's outdoor areas. The site lies at the southwest corner of the hotel ground floor, including the bar terrace and restaurant landscape area, facing HKRI Taikoo Hui and bordering Weihai Road. The original terrace was small and bland, with only a few movable furniture sets; the pool with four Thai bronze pagoda sculptures was hidden behind trees, serving only as outdoor scenery for the all-day restaurant. The renovation revolves around garden-making: the team first inserts pavilions in two key areas to strengthen atmosphere, then transforms the tree planting into a garden connecting them, forming a two-pavilion garden. Plants are replanned and combined with sound-insulating glass and bamboo screens as a triple barrier filtering outside views and noise, creating a secluded, quiet environment. The entrance bar pavilion draws on traditional Thai sala pavilions; its double-pitched roof with overhanging eaves is layered and deeply shaded, injecting a tropical feel into the new social space. The pavilion uses steel beams and columns with teak grilles joined in a mortise-and-tenon pattern, creating a more humane scale and texture.