The Wuzhen Embankment Hotel is situated beside the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, in the northwest corner of the Wuzhen Scenic Area—often called “China’s Last Water-Loving Home.” As the largest hotel in the area, it features 493 guest rooms along with a variety of dining and wellness facilities.
The exterior design draws inspiration from the imagery of sailing on land and resting on a pillow embankment, resembling a three-masted sailboat docked in a harbor.
The building’s facade creatively blends traditional Chinese motifs with contemporary materials and construction methods. Bamboo-patterned aluminum sunshade panels on the podium undulate like water waves, designed carefully to avoid disturbing the ship-like hull.
The tower, wrapped in sunshades, resembles a sail rising, ready to set sail. Subtle variations in color and depth on the facade create the illusion of stars and shadows playing across the sails in sunlight.
At night, floodlighting through the exterior facade evokes a poetic scene reminiscent of a fisherman’s home, with a solitary sail and distant shadows.
A standout feature is the suspended swimming pool on the “plywood” structure, offering guests an immersive experience of floating above the ancient town and canal, where water and sky blend seamlessly.
As dusk settles, panoramic lighting enhances the poetic atmosphere, evoking the imagery of fishing fires and solitary sails on the horizon.
The curtain wall system of the project showcases a diverse and complex design. Through parametric design technology and innovative fabrication and installation techniques, both the podium and tower fully realize the original architectural vision.
The tower’s standard floor facade uses a double-unit curtain wall system—an inner glass panel paired with an outer honeycomb aluminum sunshade—improving manufacturing efficiency and precision.
Additional curtain wall types include double-layer framed glass with sunshades, honeycomb stone panels, honeycomb aluminum panels, titanium zinc panel roofs, and various canopies, all contributing to the architectural richness of the hotel.
Project Drawings
▲ Analysis Chart
▲ Detailed Structural Drawing
▲ Detailed Structural Drawing
▲ Analysis Chart
Project Information
Architect: Linear Architecture
Area: 84,124 m²
Project Year: 2023
Photographer: Zhu Runzi
Lead Architect: Cao Zijie
Design Team: Cao Zijie, Wu Xin, Ke Siming, Dong Rensu
Collaborators: Zhejiang University Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd
Lighting Design: Shanghai Bingsi Lighting Design Firm
Client: Wuzhen Tourism Co., Ltd
Location: Jiaxing
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