Gohtong Highlands Resort Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China

Hornberger + Worstell’s master plan and design of the Gohtong Highlands Resort creates an environmentally sensitive, year-round recreational destination. Providing a diversity of activities, the 25 hectare project site includes a ski village, 18 hole golf course, tennis center, traditional Chinese market, family entertainment zone, spa and wellness facilities, and multiple 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5- star hotels and branded condominiums, totaling 5 million square feet. The resort features integrated pathways, plazas, and landscaped spaces encouraging a connection with the outdoors. These carefully designed and sited spaces provide opportunities for relaxation and recreation with ample views of the surrounding landscape. The mixture of highly-integrated buildings and uses, thoughtfully designed and sited within the mountain valley, defines and sets the Gohtong Highlands Resort above its regional competition. The buildings that make up the master plan are shaped by historical Chinese architecture, and by contemporary mountain design precedents from around the world. As in other mountain architectural styles, buildings are arranged as a cluster of related structures with connected outdoor terraces and stepped, native stone retaining walls. The large circular and rectangular buildings reference ancient Chinese architectural precedents, both fortified-rammed-earth communal “Tolou” buildings and “Siheyuan” (Hutong) courtyard residences.