The Milan-based design firm made headlines with Bosco Verticale, the world’s first vertical forest built right in the company’s hometown. A few years later, the firm’s design for a second green skyscraper won a competition to add an eco-friendly building in Lausanne, Switzerland, which will break ground next year. The Mountain Hotel will be built in Guizhou, China for the Hong Kong-based Cachet Hotel Group, and the design follows the same principles as their previous projects, with a focus on sustainable architecture and a green facade that can improve the quality of the air around it.
Related: World’s second vertical forest will rise in Switzerland
SBA will design the building as a vertical ‘forest mountain’ in the Wanfenglin region, which is also known as the Forest of Ten Thousands Peaks. Local artist Simon Ma will provide the interior design for the 250-room hotel which will offer amenities including a gym, lounge, VIP area, bar, restaurant, and conference facilities.
The New York Times named China’s Guizhou region on its list of “52 Places to Go in 2016,” predicting an increase in tourist traffic there. The forested area was largely inaccessible until 2014, when the government opened a $20 billion high-speed railway that cut the travel time from the nearest major city from 20 hours down to four. Tour activities and new hotels are sprouting up throughout the area, but certainly none are as likely to improve the local environment as much as the Mountain Hotel.
Images via Stefano Boeri Architetti
