Margot Krasojević Architects has unveiled their latest fantastical design — a luxury hotel that draws on tidal energy to produce more energy than it needs. Envisioned for Hainan’s Yalong Bay, the Harmonic Turbine Tidal Hotel aims to rework the traditional hotel typology from wastefulness to self-sufficiency and sustainability. Despite its impossibly futuristic appearance, the project has an expected completion date of 2020, which could potentially make it the world’s first energy-positive hotel — beating out Snøhetta’s proposed Arctic Circle hotel by one year.
The Harmonic Turbine Tidal Hotel is designed to be anchored at a “high-energy site” on coastline exposed to high winds and waves. Revolving water turbines partially buried in the sand would harness tidal energy for the hotel. By producing more energy than it needs, the hotel could return surplus energy to the grid and turn an additional profit.
Related: Snøhetta unveils plans for world’s first “energy-positive” hotel in the Arctic Circle
Created in the likeness of a futuristic spaceship, the hotel comprises two interlocking steel-framed volumes clad in aluminum. The semi-submerged hotel offers underwater views in all 30 ensuite spa bedrooms. “The idea behind the hotel came from rock pools and tidal power, to design a hotel which dips into the sea just enough to catch the tide whilst being able to sway in the current,” the architects wrote.
+ Margot Krasojević Architects
Images via Margot Krasojević Architects
