Since the building will open in the spring of 2018, before the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, we thought it necessary to design the building with “JAPANESE STYLE” as the core, considering the response of inbound customers. Akasaka, the site of the building, is a very chaotic city with convenient transportation, a business scene, entertainment, and deep spots. Therefore, I used the characteristics of this city as inspiration for the concept of “MIXTURE.” While using Japanese culture and crafts as a motif, I added or removed different elements to create a gap in the image of a dressed-down version of traditional Japanese crafts, aiming to create a “JAPANESE STYLE” with a sense of chaos typical of Akasaka.
The lattice on the façade has a Japanese delicacy, and the back wall is made of fair-faced concrete. The concrete walls are pressed and finished with a cedar board, and the floating wood grain and lattices are illuminated by indirect lighting to create a strong contrast and delicacy. The “Akane Koji” area on the first floor, where the restaurants are located, is laid out with stone-folding like a Japanese alley and is laid out in a layout that allows for circulation. Japanese elements such as board fences and ornamental stones are mixed with marble columns, rugged concrete, plants, and bamboo groves in this area.
The corridors on the guestroom floors are long, so to avoid monotony, a series of line lights are placed in a gate-like pattern on the vermilion-red mirrored wall, inspired by the Fushimi Inari shrine. As a result, the walls on both sides reflect the light, creating an expansive yet impressive corridor.
While the guest rooms use latticework and coffered ceilings, which are typical Japanese architectural styles, proactively tried out details that are difficult to tolerate in traditional architectural styles, such as using mirrors instead of frames, or daring to collide with concrete pillars, by deciding that “if it’s beautiful, it’s OK.
I think we have created a Japanese style with different pop and glamour by applying these gaps in various places. (Ryohei Kanda)
