CCD Tucks a Private Little Gem Away in the Mandarin Oriental Guangzhou

Founder of Hong Kong’s Cheng Chung Design, Joe Cheng, knew exactly what weary travelers and over-stimulated city dwellers would need upon visiting The Mandarin Oriental Guangzhou—a respite from the intense hustle of one of China’s largest, most highly urban transportation hubs.

The team created the interiors for the hotel’s entrance, lobby, lounge area and Cake Shop, complete with a coffee bar and the service of afternoon tea, not to mention the confections so delectable they are encased like jewelry in display cases throughout.

Upon entering the Mandarin Oriental Guangzhou, guests are met with an art gallery-type atmosphere, featuring large-scale paintings and sculptures.

Display cabinets feature French-style curved lines and are inspired by jewelry boxes, building up the pastries as curated pieces of art.

Originally unrecognizable as it was situated next to the boisterous Taikoo Hui shopping center, CCD increased the Mandarin Oriental’s visibility by allowing guests to begin their journey in a more meaningful way, installing two huge screens to pass through into an art gallery vibe inside, featuring paintings and sculptures. Green then overwhelms the hallway into the Cake Shop lobby (which was coincidentally an art gallery prior to the remodel) to give the impression you’ve found your way into a private oasis. Cabinets in here feature French-style curved lines in contrast to the more angular design features to come as one explores deeper into the space.

“Guangzhou has a unique East-West hybrid culture, since it is the beginning of the Maritime Silk Road,” explained Cheng. “In our design, we aimed to capture the sense of fusing Western and Lingnan civilizations.”

CCD founder Joe Cheng relied on the illustrations of English artist Thomas Allom as inspiration for Cake Shop and integrated them throughout its various spaces.

Classic Lingnan-style architecture favors more pale colors (think green and white), avoids circular structures and integrates many open ones like balconies and verandas because of the climate. Materials prone to mold due to the heat and humidity are also avoided. For example, Cheng replaced the beige wood from the original interiors with beige stone.

So, it was perfectly apropos when Cheng decided to draw inspiration for this project from 19th century English architect, topographical illustrator and artist Thomas Allom’s work, featured throughout the Cake Shop lobby and private lounge rooms. His paintings beautifully portray this Eastern architecture amongst tranquil gardens, helping Cheng to organize the space through Allom’s scenography.

Large scale versions of the Allom illustrations on the walls eliminate boundaries in the space, making the guest feel enveloped in the Oriental scenes.

“The Lingnan garden exhibits the features of ‘meandering paths and diverse landscapes,’” Cheng said. “The spatial arrangement of the cake shop is evocative of that. After navigating the twisting hallway, the lobby area abruptly expands. The room also has a strong connection to the outside world, which brings comfort and peace to the city.” This allows for an interplay of light and shadow in this area that makes the cakes and patisseries center stage in case goods crafted from glass and dark bronze.

The main display case in the center of the lounge encourages customer interaction with the piece as it has push-pull drawers that allow them to pick out their own cakes.

CCD takes the customer experience to the next level, with the main display case featuring a retractable, push-pull operation that allows them to pick out their own orders. The customized bar counter is backdropped with shelving shaped to reinforce the geometric Lingnan design elements, as do the floor tiles in the more private seating areas. The Cake Shop doubles as the lobby bar and hosts a variety of events from private dinner parties to baking or floral design classes.

The display shelving behind the custom coffee bar mimics the Lingnan architecture featured in the Allom illustrations that can be found throughout Cake Shop.

Screens are also very evocative of the Oriental culture.

Boundaries are not part of the equation here, as both larger scale on the walls and smaller versions of the Allom illustrations up against screens (which reinforce an Oriental atmosphere) create constant movement and connections to the outdoors.

“It counterbalances the rigid materials and geometric shapes of the hard décor, maintaining a calm ambience across the entire room,” Cheng said of the cozy lounge area.

These design juxtapositions lead to a classic elegance that maintains a connection to more modern day Asian culture. This results in an understated luxury guests want to continually surround themselves with.