Inspired by the work of famed Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, the Maze Hotel in the north-eastern province of Guangxi in Southern China was designed by a local firm, Studio 10, to break the traditional hospitality typology. During the initial research and discovery period, design director Shi Zhou came to understand that modern tourism is primarily about escaping reality.

He explains: “People go on holidays and trips to alter their reality, and we wanted to really experiment with the boundaries of this concept.” This characterisation formed the basis of the design concept, inspired by the ultimate anti-reality master, M.C. Escher.

As part of the project, Studio 10 renovated the existing rooms using Escher’s work as a reference point. The design team sought to create a “mysterious, infinite and impossible space,” says Zhou, “that accommodated a host of optical illusions.”

A forest green colour scheme was selected within ‘maze’ themed spaces, while ‘dream’ themed rooms are rendered with a pale pink and white colour palette that lends the project a fresh and serene quality. Throughout, lighting fixtures and electronic appliances are hidden behind a series of black-painted doors. This serves to conceal the light source for a clean design aesthetic, and add mystery and ambiguity to the interior.

Photography courtesy Studio 10.

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