Fragrant Hill

Location: Beijing, China

As the first Western-designed project in China since 1949, Fragrant Hill draws from the living roots of tradition to sow the seed of a new, distinctly Chinese form of modern architecture that can be adapted, not merely adopted, for diverse building types.

The project initiated a new Chinese Modern architecture.

Underlying the design is a strategy to provide a “Third Way” wherein advanced Western technology is grafted onto the essence of Chinese vernacular architecture without literal imitation.

Each guest room opens onto a garden or courtyard through a shaped “window picture” that frames the landscape and brings the outdoors inside.

The use of traditional motifs bring ancient Chinese traditions into an essentially modern design.

In Affiliation with Pei Cobb Freed & Partners