Chinese architecture studio LLLab has designed a hotel on the outskirts of Beijing as a village-style complex of buildings made from local brick and slate.
The hotel is situated in Beijou Village, a short distance from the Great Wall of China, on a site formerly occupied by a gas station.

Called San Sa Village, the hotel is a tight cluster of brick buildings connected by a series of terraces and narrow streets.
LLLab said they drew on the layout, forms and materials of the local architecture to create a "village in a village".

Looking to subvert the typical forms of rural resorts, the structures have been designed to blend into their surroundings, with simple structures and finishes that allowed for the use of local materials and workers. "To embed within the design an appreciation for the site's heritage, we extended the existing spatial arrangement of the village, scattering the architectural blocks in line with the typical village plan, while combining those blocks into an integrated whole," explained LLLab.

Individual buildings provide a mixture of private bedrooms and communal spaces for socialising and dining, opening onto a mixture of public and private courtyards planted with trees.
Old slate from the site was used to create paving for public areas, while private courtyards are marked by red brick. Blue bricks was also used to construct the walls of the buildings themselves.

"We tried our best to use local materials that were authentic a...