Cavernous hotel takes root in Shanghai

[L Roebuck]

Cavernous hotel takes root in Shanghai
China Daily

" The project will occupy some 428,300 sq m and will include a theme park, a nature resort and a shopping center.

The cave was formerly a stone pit with a lake at the bottom.

The hotel will have 480 rooms, 400 of them underground, Li Xuyang, a senior manager of the Shimao Group's architecture design department, said.

"Two stories will be built underwater, 17 will be within the cave and two more will be above ground," Li said. The roof of the hotel will only be 15 m above the cave.

"The idea was to take advantage of this unique land form and to create a garden growing in the air," Li said.

The design will make full use of the rock walls, following the natural curves of the cave.

"We won't consider expanding the cave, but we will make the best out of the present situation," Li said. "

Full Text

[Sharon Faulkner]

I've read several examples of dwellings built in caves over the last few years. In general, I don't understand the desire to build houses or hotels in caves.

In the case of this article, China is reportedly overcrowded so perhaps they don't have any other building options, which might make it more of a necessity to utilize the space they do have.