Hanamandi Hot Spring Hotel

From the architects. The Yunwu Onsen Hotel is located on the outskirts of Xuchang in Henan Province, a region famous for its hot springs for more than a thousand years. The best geothermal hot spring in all of China lies hidden underground on the site, and it is the best natural element the project possesses. Hot spring water rises to the surface, and a misty, gentle fog drifts over the lake. The design of the masterplan attempts to enhance the magical experience produced by this mist-obscured landscape. Buildings, walkways and water features are cleverly integrated with the natural spring water rising from the pools, and mechanical devices above release artificial mist that further enhances the atmosphere and experience. The white mist clinging to the water not only creates a dreamy atmosphere but also, when guests relax in their private spring pools, screens them from the sight of other guests, adding a measure of privacy. The monotone of white snow, dark sky and withered trees, which characterises most winter days in central China, gives a negative impression. In this project, the team attempts to create a unique way of adding colour to the guest experience. The inspiration comes from the way artists hand-coloured early twentieth-century black-and-white films, laying hand-painted coloured gelatine sheets over the black-and-white film to recolour it. The project is a hot-spring resort in Xuchang that uses artificial mist, colourful translucent panels and the natural steam of the springs to produce a dreamlike, coloured landscape. It is a demonstration of how a wellness hotel can turn a flat winter scene into an immersive, almost cinematographic experience, using the existing geothermal resource as the primary material. The result is a resort that is at once deeply local and unexpectedly surreal.