To Paradise Found: The Tale of Two Shangri-Las ‧ Part 1 — Vancouver 消失‧尋找:地平線上香格里拉的設計密碼 【 壹 】

English 英: Deborah Lau-Yu Chinese 中: Ophelie C.
venue: shangri-la HOTEL vancouver
photography: provided by shangri-la HOTEL vancouver

 
V ancouver, BC. In the drawer of the wooden nightstand, you will find a small blue coloured hardcover book titled The Lost Horizon by James Hilton. The story of the Shangri-La brand is inspired by the one in the book, a mythical utopian lamasery located high in the mountains of Tibet where people do not age and are detached from any woes or worries. In a dream world of beauty, rivers, streams, abundant fruits and thriving nature, there are breathtaking landscapes — beyond the book, this is certainly a fitting description for beautiful and lush Vancouver, where the Shangri-La hotel is nestled.

卑詩省 ‧ 溫哥華香格里拉大酒店:香格里拉的品牌故事,大概可以從每間客房床頭櫃收藏的藍色精裝小書《消失的地平線》說起。這本由英國作家詹姆斯·希爾頓(James Hilton) 撰寫的小說描畫了一個令人嚮往的世外桃源——香格里拉——一座位於西藏高原上的神秘寺院,裏面的人無憂無慮、長生不老,周圍有如詩如畫的風景、如夢幻仙境般的河溪、豐富的新鮮水果,整個大自然生生不息。香格里拉大酒店就是將希爾頓筆下的烏托邦呈現在其溫哥華酒店的設計上,讓住客有如置身仙境。

It is this spirit of paradise woven together with Chinese culture that forms the design language inside. Expansive strokes of black ink on oversized rice paper echo the magnificent landscapes of mountains to boldly and yet quietly mark your arrival. Visual poetry delights at every turn — exquisite handcrafted details depicting the birds and flowers of the orient are presented on embroidered tapestry walls, watercolour paintings and wooden screen carvings. Nodding to tradition, the interior design employs an aesthetic that brings you momentarily to Asia with the warm woods and patterned trims.

這兒的設計揉合中國文化與書中的仙氣神韻,門庭附近掛上一幅巨型大宣紙字畫,紙上的水墨氣勢磅礡地描繪出壯麗的山川,恬靜地迎接客人來臨。踏進酒店舉目盡是詩情畫意——周圍的水彩畫以至木屏風雕刻均見富有東方色彩的花鳥圖案,壁上掛毯的刺繡更是巧奪天工,令整個空間洋溢一片古雅的氣息。室內設計廣泛採用傳統風格的木材裝飾,讓客人感覺猶如瞬間置身亞洲。



“Shangri-La, the Paradise” located in the hotel’s lobby is Shanghai-based artist Xuyuan Wang’s masterpiece. The painting is 7.2 metres by 2.1 metres wide and features abstracted forms of Chinese characters “Xian Jing” which means ‘paradise,’ transformed into floating clouds, mountains, water and a terrace. The characters for ‘Shangri-La’ have been turned into the villages hidden in the white clouds, and the entire piece represents the vision of traditional Chinese living and heaven-like domain.

裝裱在酒店大堂的書畫《仙境‧香格里拉》出自上海漢書藝術家王緒遠手筆。畫作長7.2米、闊2.1米,筆下以浮雲、山水化成「仙境」二字,而「香格里拉」四字就化成白雲下的小村落,呈現中國傳統生活和世外桃源的意境

Two design firms worked together to create this destination that would integrate British Columbia’s West coast style and Shangri-La’s Asian heritage. Areas within the 119-room hotel flow and transition from light and airy to dark and mysterious. From the hotel’s opulent lobby with three-storey windows, sandstone floors and walls with handcrafted Asian tables and vases to the peaceful retreat of their CHI spa, event spaces and the outdoor pool deck.

這座薈萃香格里拉亞洲傳統與卑詩省西岸風格的酒店提供119 間客房,由兩家設計公司共同打造,光線設計極具心思。氣派十足的大堂樓底高三層,擁自然採光,水療中心則調暗光線,以微光打造神秘、寧靜的氣氛,讓客人慢慢從燈火通明的大堂逐步走進燈光昏暗的私密空間,暫時放下塵世的煩惱,享受一剎寧靜,尋找內心的世外桃源。

The Shangri-La Vancouver is one of the tallest towers in Vancouver and an important contribution to the city skyline. Designed by architect Jim Cheng, the building is exceptionally well-suited to its context and is proving timeless.

In addition to the aesthetic design, Director of Communications Ayesha Minty-Jacob also shares some of the innovative technological design of the hotel: “The full-height grids of luminescent panels on the exterior of the building, which are proprietary to this project, are noteworthy. Made of a composite of a luminescent coating, chromatic film and textured glass, the panels absorb energy from daylight and surrounding light sources and then glow from that energy in the evening. They change colour when viewed from different vantage points and under different weather conditions. These luminescent grids are intended as veils, held off the glass surface on the corner façades and in practical terms, they conceal the building exhaust vents in the curtainwall skin behind. They require no wiring and consume no energy.”

溫哥華香格里拉大酒店是當地最高的高樓之一,是溫哥華天際線一處重要地標,外觀與周圍環境非常融合,歷久常新。建築師是生於香港的華人鄭景明,酒店除了外觀符合美學標準,原來華麗的外牆內還隱藏創新環保的科技設計。傳訊總監 Ayesha Minty-Jacob 介紹說:「這大樓外牆發光板是特別設計的,這些面板由發光塗層、彩色薄膜和紋理玻璃合組而成,它會在日間吸收日光和周圍光源的能量,晚上就利用這些能量中發光。光影亦變化萬千,不同的角度、不同的天氣下看這大樓會看到不同的顏色。這些發光板其實本來是遮蓋一些玻璃角位,並將排氣口隱藏在幕牆後。實用之處是它們不需要佈線,也不消耗能源。」

 

SPonsored by FERRIS WHEEL PRESS

 

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