Interior design firm: DAS Lab, Shanghai

The details: China’s rural Dawan Village in Ningxia, dotted with weathered, dusty dwellings, is located on the banks of the Yellow River, but its landscape also incorporates the desert. Shanghai-based DAS Lab did not want to disrupt these distinctive environs when creating the Lost Villa Boutique Hotel, so the complex of 15 flat-roofed buildings—essentially a small village strung together by wooden walkways and low-walled courtyards—is in dialogue with the tree-covered surroundings.

“We try to hide artificial traces in design and let people get involved naturally,” says Li Jingze, DAS Lab’s founding partner and creative director. For the façade, Jingze was challenged to find a material durable enough to withstand sandstorms that still “shows our respect to local architecture.” By mixing mud with mortar, DAS Lab was able to simulate rammed earth and conjure a “beautifully old” exterior, he says. Inside, the understated units feature concrete, terrazzo, and wood veneer. All have different layouts, guided by the strategic placement of floor-to-ceiling windows that magnify outdoor views. Like the structures’ shade-inducing reed canopies outside, the windows allow guests to witness the interplay between light and shadow. “When encountering views in an unexpected way right in the room,” says Jingze, “people might be inspired to rethink their relationship with the space and nature.”