San Sa Village

Set in the small village of Beigou on the northern outskirts of Beijing, San Sa Village was built on a large but rather uninspiring plot that once housed a petrol station. In a prime example of a new build created with traditional Chinese design philosophies in mind, Shanghai design studio IlLab created a “village within a village” – a hotel complex of nine houses, arranged in line with a typical village plan and designed to fit seamlessly into the surrounding built environment by using local slate and bricks. While the terraces and narrow streets are intended to facilitate moments of interaction between neighbours, the 16 rooms offer solitude, with white plaster walls, dark wooden floors and furniture in muted tones, imbuing a feeling of nostalgia into a modern retreat.