Nanbo Bay Reception Center in Yinchuan Shi, China by Sunson Design is mesmerising in every way.
The “Hall of time” is located at the entrance of the building, generating the first impression of the project which is natural, warm, mysterious, and full of the ritual sense that entering this hall will step into an “isolated” natural park.The divergent wooden dome simulates the sunlight, underneath which there’s a circular water view device marked with “Life should be spent on enjoying good things”, which showed life should be good and don’t waste time. Enjoy the lights, flowers, scenery, and settle down.
The reception hall is a small ecological miniature of “city rainforest” that the picturesque disorder bamboo forests, banyan trees, plantains, and other fresh green plants, and the low shrubs, wooden negotiation tables, and chairs has formed a longitudinally extending “indoor rainforest”, which realized the organic combination of indoor, landscape and virescence design.
Step out of the “rain forest” and walk into the sand table display area, where the small natural ecological landscape and stone walls highlight the key points of the space.
There is a ladder book bar on the left side of the reception hall. The floor-to-ceiling glass introduces natural light, which increases the permeability, allowing readers to be in the “golden house” and enjoy a quiet reading time.
The bookshelf wall between the bar and the corridor is a humanistic door that can trace the origins. The designer has borrowed the conception of the Yinchuan Water Tunnel Ruin here that to tell persons of the prosperous and historical heritage of ancient Yinchuan 30,000 years ago by the “sealed” animal fossil specimens which are made by resin and iron.
In the dining area, continuous arch elements bring a sense of exoticism, reflecting the harmony, communication, and warmth of the space.
Bright wallpaper with melon and fruit patterns, bamboo screens and window lattices, and original wooden tables and chairs all continue the natural ecological characteristics.
The reception area is bright and private. The custom hanging lamp woven by hemp rope shines like a galaxy. The office chairs made of half-wrapped flannel provide a sense of comfort and security for both parties, which gives full play to the functionality of the space.
The landscaped courtyard has its own unique features. The wooden sphere floor-to-ceiling sculpture remains motionless at the “opposite bank”, like a rock, a reed, a unique pastoral landscape.
The outer glass wall of the swimming pool creates the visual illusion of “zero gravity”, which makes people feel like swimming in the air and traveling around the world. The long wooden benches and stone sculptures by the pool, the soft film ceiling, and the glass light well allow the space to blend trees, water, music, natural light, and stone carving in nature.
Photo credit: Kanghui Zeng