The architectural team turned a trio of old buildings, including a former artificial limbs factory and a post office, into a boutique hotel. It holds the record as China’s first-of-its-kind carbon-neutral establishment. The architects’ radical approach conveys sensitivity to the environment while redefining what a hotel stay should be like. While the attention to sustainability has grown and evolved recently, principal architect Silva feels that the hotel did create a ripple effect to inspire a consciousness in material use and in the creation of healthy spaces.

Wellness, he thinks, cannot be discussed in and of itself. It is but one dimension of the greater sustainability discourse, centring itself on the health of its inhabitants and of the environment. ...

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