"Commune" becomes new portfolio member

Berlin / Beijing: design hotels is delighted to announce its first member in China: Commune by the Great Wall. The "Commune" is a cooperation between Soho China Ltd. and several young architects from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. Conceived as an exclusive group of villas, the Commune is located around 60km from Beijing, in the shadow of the Great Wall. At the head of the project is developer and visionary, Zhang Xin, who was awarded the "Special Prize to an Individual Patron of Architectural Works" at the Architectural Biennale "Next" 2002 in Venice for the concept.

The first 11 villas in the Commune will be marketed and represented as a unique hotel under the design hotels brand from March 2003. The membership agreement was signed at the International Tourism Exchange in Berlin, Germany, where Hans Heyligers, General Manager of the Commune, and Guofang Guo, Director of Sales, were present at the design hotels stand to present the property.

Each of the Commune's villas, situated in eight square kilometers of pristine landscape, represents an individual interpretation of modern, Asian architecture. Together with the first 11 villas, Commune by the Great Wall is a model project for private housing for the affluent Asian society of the future. By summer 2003, 24 villas will be complete. The final total will be 59.