Bold and Daring: The Pazhou Hotel

It is bold, it is abstract, it is highly unique; The Pazhou Hotel in Guangzhou, China, a rapidly developing district of world renowned grandeur – Zaha Hadid’s Opera House is directly across the Pearl River- clearly stands on its own. Although, giving the impression that the building could be falling, the structure of the Hotel creates an illusion that it is moving. Designed by Aedas, the hotel is still being talked about three years on from its opening, and for a good reason.

It is the bold design moves that are the highlight of this postmodern structure. The building design is cut in half into two sections: the 200 foot atrium, with a lobby, retail spaces, eateries and an exhibition space is bulked underneath the office and residential levels which resemble two connected towers of Tetris. The atrium section is like four magnificent glass boxes stacked unevenly beside each other, whereas the upper section is the opposite and stacked unevenly on top of each other. The opposing structures complement the other as they are united with the similar glass exterior that provides light and open views to the river on which the building sits.

The overlapping levels provide sliding floor plates which allows light to enter into the building, and into the international exhibition centre. The lobby on the opposite side of the exhibition centre has stacked supports until the fourth floor, where they go up to support the structure vertically above.

Beneath the lower levels of the public exhibition space, is an underground section which connects the Pazhou Hotel to the nearest subway, increasing the building’s locational benefits for residents and hotel clients alike. Opening in 2012 the Pazhou Hotel has earned itself a five star rating, one of three in the Guangzhou area.