INTERIORS

Louvre Sofitel Hotel in Foshan

The new Louvre Sofitel Hotel in Foshan is the tallest building in the city. With a height of 239 metres, it has become a landmark. A hotel combined with an international exhibition hall for furniture, it includes French, traditional Chinese, modern and postmodern styles.

Putting the ‘Louvre’ in its name, the hotel’s three-floored banquet hall takes inspiration from the Palace of Versailles in France through rococo design. Through its windows the western-style outdoor garden including a three-storey vertical green wall recalls the might and power of the Bourbon Dynasty at its height in a new way. For more informal meals, an all-day restaurant reflects a more casual French look – that of the coffee shops that line the Left Bank in Paris. One of the four types of hotel room available is that of the French style. White, gold, and natural woods are the main hues used, and luxurious gilt-edged furniture allows hotel residents to recall the noble court of Louis XVI.

The other types include classic Chinese-style rooms, detailed in black-and-white Lingnan characteristics. Beds in these rooms have backing-cloths of local artisanal gambiered gauze, while other soft furnishings mimic designs of Lingnan folk handicrafts. Modern and post-modern type rooms are designed more simply, through simple lines and blocks, and subdued black, blue, and grey hues. Even here, however, the way the furnishings are laid out reflect characteristic Lingnan dwellings, while the furnishings themselves include modern European design elements. The lines between regional Lingnan culture and European culture are explored further in the hotel’s executive lounge, Italian restaurant, and American-style bar.

PROJECT DATA
Project Name: Louvre Sofitel Hotel in Foshan
Location: Foshan, Guangdong Province, China
Completion Date: July 2017
Gross Floor Area: 60,000 square metres
Interior Design Firm: Cheng Chung Design (HK)
Images: Cheng Chung Design (HK)