The Sukhothai Shanghai by Neri&Hu: A Garden Hotel in the City
The Sukhothai Shanghai is a hotel designed to provide a different tempo within one of Asia's most densely animated cities. Working within a building whose structure and facade were already fixed, Neri&Hu was asked to interpret the character of the Sukhothai brand while creating an experience rooted in Shanghai. The result is a sequence of rooms concerned with the idea of a garden: a place of pause, renewal and controlled views of the outside world.
Reimagining a garden without open ground
The original Sukhothai in Bangkok established a connection to Thai traditions through a sense of retreat and its relationship with nature. Shanghai presented different conditions. Instead of reproducing a traditional tropical landscape, the architects organised public interiors as a series of imagined gardens within the envelope of a mixed-use urban building. The concept brings a shared language to otherwise distinct dining, gathering and private spaces.
Public circulation resembles a sequence of small urban courts. A guest moves from one interior destination to another, passing between changes in texture, light and spatial scale. References to nature emerge through material palettes, openings and the relationship between enclosed rooms, rather than through theatrical greenery alone.
A staircase with its own architectural presence
One of the most memorable interventions is the stair rising from the entry and lobby. Broad grey terrazzo elements are stacked and shifted, giving the flights the appearance of a sculptural object assembled in layers. A fine bronze handrail provides a deliberately light counterpoint to the apparent weight of the stone, while the surrounding screens allow views through the structure.
Above the circulation space hangs a large timber lantern, its woven lattice forming an atmospheric canopy. Glass and bronze pendant lights are positioned at different heights against this framework. The combination turns a practical passage into a place to pause, while offering a material bridge between the lobby and the more private hotel interiors.
Restaurants interpreted as different gardens
Food and beverage rooms extend the landscape concept in several directions. The Italian restaurant is informed by the compositional order of Renaissance gardens, using a sequence of columns and suspended lights. The all-day dining room and Garden Bar take a different route, referring to an abundant kitchen garden through green terrazzo, patterned ceramic surfaces and a softer, more informal mood.
These venues do not depend on a single decorative symbol to make their themes recognisable. Their identities arise from the spacing of elements, material colour and the way guests occupy the room. This gives the hotel a sense of continuity while allowing restaurants and bars to offer different experiences.
Private rooms as miniature houses
In the guestrooms, the studio imagines a small home within the larger hotel. Thick stone surfaces and timber elements define a private 'house', while the area beyond opens towards natural light and the surrounding city, recalling an intimate courtyard. Brass details introduce warmth to a restrained set of finishes. This makes the room feel like a sequence of places rather than a single undifferentiated enclosure.
The guestroom arrangement is especially important to the hotel's narrative. Having introduced the idea of gardens in the shared spaces, the design returns to it at a personal scale, giving each guest a protected zone in which to retreat. It is an interpretation of hospitality in which a carefully orchestrated path through the building matters as much as any individual room.
Project information and photography
Project: The Muted Landscape | The Sukhothai Shanghai, China. Architecture and interior design: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, founded by Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu. Area: 24,000 m². Project completed: May 2018. Address: 380 Weihai Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai. Project photography: Pedro Pegenaute. Images are sourced from the official studio project gallery.
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