The Skywells project mainly comprised of an extensive renovation of a 300-year-old Huizhou-style property deep in East China’s Jiangxi province. The hotel is named after the English translation of ‘Tian Jing’ – a type of narrow courtyard within a building that lets daylight into the surrounding rooms. The mansion’s idyllic location and rich history as a witness to some of the most tumultuous periods in China’s history make for a unique history. Having once served as an inn for merchants traversing through the region, the building had suffered much neglect for most of the 20th century and was also a haven for Chinese soldiers fighting the Japanese invasion of the mainland.
The aim of the project was to respect and honor the local architectural features and restore in a manner where current and future generations could understand and appreciate traditional design. This necessitated the sacrifice of design styles that may seem appealing to the reigning aesthetic but would destroy the essence of the Qing-era property.
Excluding absolutely necessary modifications, new construction of any kind within the new building was kept to a minimum, with the team foregoing even the idea of painting over the public-area walls covered with decades-old calligraphy from wartimes and the only main construction being the new multipurpose wing tucked away in a corner of the estate.