Sangha: At One Hotel
SANGHA: AT ONE HOTEL
Suzhou, China
Sangha, a pedestrian oriented live-work-learn community focused on helping people learn to live well (physically, emotionally, and socially), is a 46-acre development located on Yangcheng Lake, a UNESCO world heritage site on the periphery of Suzhou, China, that features single-family residences, apartments, hotels, a medical clinic, an East/West wellness center, a food hall and food markets, a conference/learning center, a childhood learning center, and an innovation gallery among numerous other components.
One of Sangha’s key components is the At One Hotel, a 72-room wellness retreat. This low-slung, zinc, brick, and wood structure is set unobtrusively amid walls of natural boulders and greenery on the edge of Lake Yangcheng. Upon entry one is greeted by a wooden reception table backed by a wall sheathed in the bark of a large cork tree. The view looks out to the lake across the adjoining Tea Room, where ceiling lanterns assembled from traditional oil-paper umbrellas honor (and repurpose) a traditional craft.
The hotel’s sinuous plan traces the outline of the shore, which in turn is edged by a slender infinity pool. Corridors to the guest rooms are bathed with sunlight filtered through wooden sun shades. Along the corridors, windows of graduated colored glass filter the natural light; different colors are selected for each of the five connecting wings.
