Peitree Eco Resort replaces a long-abandoned 5.3 hectare school site within the Yaoliang Valley, Anji District—an area renowned for its agriculture, especially white tea and bamboo production, and its approach to fresh, healthy cuisine and outdoor living. The resort comprises a contemporary, small-scale 26- room hotel interwoven by a series of varying landscapes, ranging from minimalist garden courtyards and water features, to closely surrounding agricultural fields that connect to the valley’s expansive tea terraces and bamboo forests.
There is a slowly building trend of “eco” resort development in China and Peitree is an early adopter, informing other hospitality projects within the region and further afield.
The design objective was to ensure that the project embraced the meaning of “eco”. This meant embarking on a comprehensive plan to repair the existing landscape, source local, time-tested materials, engage the local community socially and economically, and add a simple, contemporary design layer over top of a rich regional history to deliver a crisp, modern interpretation of what it means to live side by side with nature within a hospitality environment.
The resort design was a collaboration with DDB Architects and BEING Studio along with PFS Studio and their China-based affiliate company Conglian Planning and Landscape Architecture. The team envisioned a place that would provide inspiration, alleviate stress, and create opportunities for social interaction while telling a story of local people and their traditions.
The landscape architects were equal design partners, a relationship proven out by the delivery of an exceptional, immersive, natural guest experience. The line between architecture and landscape architecture is almost indistinguishable. The relationship between nature and built form is “as one” and amplified by buildings embraced by a choreographed series of minimalist gardens, water courts, viewing terraces, intimate walkways, and agriculture fields.
Strategically placed around the site are orchards and kitchen gardens – accessed by all and utilized by the resort in their fresh food program. Pedestrian and bicycle pathways wind throughout the resort, the fields and into a nearby verdant valley of tea terraces and bamboo forest. They are punctuated by viewing areas for resort guests. Cars are restricted to a distant, screened parking area on the property periphery. Upon arrival, guests are encouraged to walk through the agricultural field pathways to the hotel or use the resort’s shuttle services. Delivery activities are remote from the principal landscapes and concealed within bamboo plantings and architectural screening.
PFS provided full services from concept through construction and contract documentation to site services and commissioning and was responsible for all grading, planting, paving, site furnishing, perimeter walls, outdoor pavilions and water elements. Simple, durable, locally sourced materials were thoughtfully combined to reference history but in ways that added a contemporary layer to the work. The conceptual challenges of old and new, traditional and modern, intimate and sublime, were met head on by an inspired PFS design team composed of Chinese and North American trained landscape architects.
