a cluster of bamboo canopies tops resort beach club amid china’s coconut groves

various associates completes nature-infused luxury beach club

Inspired by its engulfing landscape and infusing an energetic sense of vitality, Various Associates has revamped luxury hotel The Sanya EDITION’s beach club with a fresh new identity ingrained in nature. Located on the coast of China’s Haitang Bay, the space unveils an unprecedented leisure experience amid a lush bed of coconut groves, creating an elegant yet cozy venue for resort-goers to socialize on the beach.

Embracing Sanya’s picturesque environment and local aesthetics, Various Architects devised an ‘Under the Trees’ design concept inspired by the engulfing coconut groves, which indulges its guests in the passion of Hainan Island from day to night. The hotel’s beach club is defined by lush greenery, organic tones and textures, and soft lighting, topped by a sculptural wave of wave of bamboo-woven structures. Arranged in different heights and forms, the five-tree like canopies seem to organically emerge from a bed of plants on the ground, overlapping above guest facilities to create intimate yet open spaces.

bamboo-woven trees shelter beach-goers

Throughout the space, the architects make use of natural materials and textures for a warm atmosphere that evokes the image of the tropical island city. Natural bamboo and wood build up the canopy structures meanwhile recycled pebble-wash creates warm, textured pavements, all of which contribute to a sustainable design project committed to environmental protection.

Through low-impact design interventions, the organically curving bamboo structures merge with the site’s lush landscapes, echoing the expansive azure Haitang Bay across the coconut groves. Scattered around sunken seating booths, the expansive canopies provide shelter for an intimate retreat, while their open connecting spaces bring in glimpses of views of the expansive nature into view. The clustering canopy forms continuous lines that undulate to generate a spatial rhythm in dialogue with nature. To ensure a pure visual effect, each structure is presented as an independent work of bamboo weaving, which took days of on-site work by multiple experienced craftsmen. A main bar counter is set up at the center of the site in the shape of a giant trunk, generating an organic circulation around the structure.

The tightly interwoven structures allow sunshine to penetrate through in the daytime. When lights are turned on at night, the steel skeleton wrapped in bamboo strips, which stretches like the patterns of a leaf, reveal themselves to the guests and render the canopy into a giant banana leaf. After the sun sets, the night life awakens and light emits upwards from the ‘trunks’, invigorating the space. Meanwhile. the expansive canopies wrap up the light and separate it from other areas of the hotel to reduce impact on the tranquility of the seaside. The unique color and texture of bamboo-woven structures are coupled with diffusing light to create an elegant nighttime atmosphere, and add a touch of romance and warmth to the space.

an activated venue along haitang bay’s coastline

Hoping to refresh and activate their outdoor beach area, The Sanya EDITION hotel wanted to introduce a young, fashionable lifestyle and social activities to the otherwise somewhat deserted space and turn it into a landmark in Haitang Bay. Various Associates renewed beach club provides a strong connection among different activity areas in the surroundings and forms a rendezvous brimming with vigor and joy. Bar goers, guests taking a sunbath, swimmers and volleyball players are united under the tree like canopies and open space.