Tonino Lamborghini Chengdu is the Italian luxury brand’s latest addition to its real estate portfolio, following three other high end Chinese sites, with the complex comprising a five star hotel plus residential, commercial, hospitality and cultural functions.
Iconic integration
Developed by Chengdu Donghe Real Estate Co, the two 180-metre-high skyscrapers will feature Tonino Lamborghini design but paying tribute to the cultures of both Italy and China.
The stylistic elements recall the heritage of the Bull brand, integrating the iconic silhouette of the marque’s shield into the architecture of the common spaces.
Common areas
The common areas include an entrance, a reception, restaurants, a cafeteria, an executive lounge, a lobby, a panoramic swimming pool, a shopping complex and the Sichuan Theatre.
These spaces, as well as the 210 hotel rooms and 500 luxury flats, have been designed in collaboration with Studio Marco Piva, whose team is also responsible for the architectural study of the podium and the towers’ facades.
Tower arrangement
The hotel’s facilities are located from the street level up to the seventh floor, while the rooms and apartments start from the eighth floor of Tower A.
The accommodation will be characterised by different layouts and surface areas, designed to offer a unique hospitality experience for all traveller types, such as business to leisure guests.
Dynamic design
The common areas will feature a dynamic design that uses refined materials, shapes and beams of light with a sharp cut, optical effects and surface fragmentation. Custom creation of decorative panels and different furnishing elements are aimed at making every space spectacular, from the reception to the themed restaurants, lobby, lounges and all the way up to the rooms.
Strong decorative marbles, vertical lines that recall the bamboo of the nature reserves adjacent to the city, circular elements such as mirrors, lamps and tables inspired by traditional Chinese umbrellas, are some of the recurring elements in the hotel spaces and luxury apartments, interpreted according to the Italian tradition linked to aesthetics, functionality and emotion.
Water and fire elements
A particularly scenic environment will be that of the swimming pool on the seventh floor. This will showcase views of both the city skyline and the vertical development of Tower A. The concept involves the meeting of water and fire elements, with a waterfall on the glass wall overlooking the city and a play of light on the opposite wall to emulate fire.
For the rooms and apartments interior design, the brief was to create a new way of living, developing an elegant, high-quality interior concept in which the essence of nature and its colours are reflected in the chosen materials and textures.
Theatrical theme
The new multifunctional complex is located in the area that used to house the historic Sichuan Theatre known for traditional Sichuanese opera. A new Sichuan Theatre will be incorporated into the new structure, spreading over five floors with access by street level and from the third floor. The performance space aims to enhance operatic and contemporary visual art excellence.
The concept design created by Studio Marco Piva brings the tradition of the place and the typical elements of its performances back to life, reinterpreting them in a contemporary way. The sound of the bell, loud and poetic in the theatrical performances, generates vibrations that permeate the space, with lighting design reinforcing the sensation of being inside a bell.
Retail aspect
The complex’s shopping area will be located at the tower’s main entrance, with the welcome area enriched by an artisanal light fall at full height.
Speed and dynamism, the Bull brand’s values, translate into the choice of reflective finishes, clean and decisive lines, strategic cuts of light that create visual paths. Materials such as marble, metal and textured glass refer to the tradition and craftsmanship of ‘Made in Italy’, and look towards the future and a new way of conceiving retail-related spaces. Iconic signs are identified in the large, monumental portals to access the shops, inspired by the concept of an airport gate, which emphasise the international character of the building.
Other contributors
UK firm Kelly Hoppen Interiors will also contribute to the design, while Join.In Hospitality Management of China will operate the hotel. The buildings’ general contractor is China Construction Seventh Engineering Division Corp.
When the project was first announced in 2018, completion was set for 2020, but the schedule has since slipped (likely exacerbated by the strict covid lockdowns in China) and it is now expected to deliver in Q4 this year.
