“Hotel Riverge Akebono / Fukui French Aujus”, which we were involved in, won the KUKAN DESIGN AWARD 2022 Longlist.

The KUKAN DESIGN AWARD Website：https://kukan.design/en/

Longlist：https://kukan.design/en/14386/

■Hotel Riverge Akebono / Fukui French Aujus
“Design Concept”
Hotel Rivage Akebono stands on the banks of the Asuwa River, one of the most famous cherry blossom viewing spots in Fukui Prefecture.
The plan is to convert the main dining room from Japanese cuisine to French cuisine. In an area with many Japanese restaurants and ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurants), the design of this French restaurant incorporates the charms of Fukui, which is a city with unique regional characteristics.
The restaurant’s name, “Aujus (cherry blossom tree),” was used as a motif for the decorated screen that evokes cherry blossom petals floating on the surface of the Asuwa River and their overlapping, and the dining chairs and ceiling coloring are reminiscent of cherry blossom petals, creating a calm, modern space with one-tone colors wrapped in traditional Echizen Japanese paper.
Under the theme of “Fukui, delicious and brilliant,” the chef’s cuisine brings out the best of Fukui’s seasonal ingredients, and the space expresses a new Fukui-ness. A ” Fukui French” restaurant was born, where not only residents of Fukui Prefecture but also tourists from other prefectures can experience the uniqueness of Fukui.

Project More Info：https://www.kkstokyo.co.jp/en-works/cate/interiors/3005/

 
Top Photo：DINNING　Center Photo：DINNING　Photo below：PRIVATE ROOM-1
Photo：Forward Stroke Inc.

“Design Concept”
The Hyatt Place brand, which has been expanding worldwide, is finally making inroads into Kyoto. The key requirement for this project was that guests are accustomed to traveling should be able to stay in a comfortable and casual environment as usual. The hotel is not an extraordinary world for guests, but a second home, an extension of their daily routine.
The hotel is not an extraordinary world for guests, but a second home, an extension of their daily routine.
Therefore, we sought “what is the universal comfort of Kyoto” rather than a design that overemphasizes Kyoto-ness and incorporated two concepts into our design.

“Space of connection”
Through the Kyoto townscape to the back alleys. It leads directly to the inside of the town and then back to the streets.
An axis line that resembles a Kyoto alley runs through the center of the interior, and the reception area, lounge, bar, and restaurant are arranged around this alley. The alleyway was designed to create a connection with the town so that guests can enter the hotel as if they were walking through the street, enjoy their stay, and then return to the guest rooms located in the inner areas of the hotel. This inner alley, which also connects to the street on the annex side, is a cozy space with natural light from skylights and latticed windows.
The facade of the building also shows the inner street as a new alleyway in the town. It is also essential to have a connection between inside and outside.

“Light and Shadow of Kyoto”
As with the skylight and lattice door, light and shadow are also very important in the space of a Kyo-machiya (traditional Kyoto-style houses). While functionally controlling the delicate light during the day, the atmosphere with yin and yang creates depth and profundity in the space. At night, low-positioned lights, such as lanterns, are responsible for a quite different and expressive effect than during the daytime. This soft and diverse “light and shadow of Kyoto” is applied modernly to incorporate throughout the production to suit the traveler of our time.

The first floor of the main building is the public area, with a tile-laying traffic line as an inner alley connecting Karasuma Street to Ryogae-cho Street. The hotel space is not so-called Japanese style but international modern, incorporating bold art by Kyoto artists, roof tiles, lattice, and textiles.
The standard 25 square meter room is compact but has a huge window that overlooks the garden and the city of Kyoto, giving the room a feeling of spaciousness that exceeds its area. The simple design incorporates all the necessary functions for flexible use according to each guest’s needs, including a living area that doubles as a dining area, a desk, a stool to move around comfortably, and a sofa that converts into a bed. Above the headboard, softly rainbow-colored shadows fall on the artwork. Through shadows that change in intensity depending on the light, one can more deeply appreciate the weather and the changes of time.

Top Photo：WINDBREAK ROOM　Center Photo：LOBBY LOUNGE　Photo below：LOBBY

Photo: Forward Stroke Inc.

Our design for “The Clan” , “THE WESTIN MIYAKO KYOTO SPA ‘KACHO’” was nominated for The LIV Hospitality Design Awards.

◼”The Clan”　- Winner in Interior Design Asia

https://livawards.com/winner/special/2021/538/0/

◼”The Clan”　- Winner in Interior Design Hotel – Midscale & Lifestyle

https://livawards.com/winner/liv/2021/438/0/

◼”THE WESTIN MIYAKO KYOTO SPA ‘KACHO’ ” – Winner in Interior Design Wellness ( SPA, Yoga, Retreat)

https://livawards.com/winner/liv/2021/480/0/

※The LIV Hospitality Design Awards ：https://livawards.com/winner/liv/2021/
LIV Hospitality Design Awards is celebrating the quality and diversity of the architectural ventures and interior design projects shaping the worldwide hospitality industry today.
The jury panel composed of 41 talented and experienced professionals, prominent academics, entrepreneurs, and developers in the Hospitality, Architecture, and Interior Design fields has selected the winners from over 400 submissions from 43 countries.
The judges evaluated each project based on their own merit; rewarding the most pioneering and ground-breaking designs and selecting those standing out, based on new concepts, innovations, sustainability initiatives and property design stories!

Photo：The Clan Hotel Singapore / Forward Stroke Inc.

Design Concept;
Quite and peaceful Gotenyama escaped away from the hustle and bustle of the city
Fitness Club in the Hotel embraced by peaceful atmosphere of Gotenyama,
You can feel calm, cozy and relaxed as if it is your own residence, even in the heart of the city.
Clean and chic white decoration, wall covering with natural, subtle textures arranged
in a modern style and wood grain wall enhance the natural, open-minded exercises.
Contrast between convenience and peace & quiet creating the cozy fitness.

Photo: Mori Trust Co, Ltd.

The planned site is adjacent to Urakuen, a historical Japanese tea-ceremony garden on the south with a view of the national treasure, Inuyama Castle in the west and a local river called Kiso running along the north, with various tourist attractions in vicinity including traditional activities such as cormorant fishing.

The “Indigo” brand aims to create facilities that reflect its history, culture, and natural environment unique to the location, culminated as a “neighborhood story” which forms the basis for the concept for each hotel.

The proposed masterplan for the hotel in this case of Indigo Inuyama , achieved this goal by firstly reinforcing the existing view axis of the Inuyama castle as the main feature upon entering the lobby complimented by the vast yet shallow reflection pool which mirrors the surrounding nature.
This is in sharp contrast to the rather humble approach from the entry road running along Kiso river, which is bamboo lined around at the porte cochère, more surreal in atmosphere anticipating the dramatic impact upon entering the main lobby. The lobby design strikes a resonance with the surrounding landscape in scale and decoration with design motifs that are representative of the local Inuyama Festival whereas the interior of the guestrooms are more subtle in approach with hints borrowed from the tea ceremony pavilion at Urakuen garden in tone and graphics with details inherited to express local craftwork such as the Ukai basket unique to the local fishing method at Kiso River. The result is a harmonious balance between the new and the old or the more familiar both contributing to the authenticity of this unique site.

Photo：Forward Stroke Inc.

Design Concept;
The hotel’s interiors were designed using dense-looking materials like dark-toned, solid timber, metal and stones to capture the essence of the interiors of old Chinese shophouses. Upon stepping into the entrance, the dim and sombre ambience immediately creates a sense of elegant mystery. Dark colours are used throughout the public spaces up to the corridors outside the guestrooms. In contrast, a warm, neutral-coloured scheme was used for the guestrooms.
The Clan Hotel was built to reflect the success stories of humble immigrants and their strong bond that lasted through the generations, from past to present. Their visions and hopes represent the door to the future, which is where our modern design feature come in. Our interior concept blends urban aesthetics with Chinese cultural elements to celebrate history and nostalgia in an atmospheric, modern oasis.

Photo: The Clan Hotel Singapore

“ALL DAY DINING LOUNGE /BAR Primrose at Karuizawa Prince Hotel West”, which we were involved in, won the KUKAN DESIGN AWARD 2021 Longlist.

The KUKAN DESIGN AWARD　https://kukan.design/en

Longlist：https://kukan.design/en/longlist_genre/b-05/h

Photo：Forward Stroke Inc.

Our design for “The Kahala Hotel & Resort Yokohama” was nominated for the ANDREW MARTIN INTERIOR DESIGNER OF THE YEAR AWARD.

https://www.andrewmartin.co.uk/design-awards

It is published in ANDREW MARTIN INTERIOR DESIGN REVIEW Vol 25.

https://www.andrewmartin.co.uk/homeware/books/ami-design-review-book-25

Photo：Forward Stroke Inc.

Design Concept

With the reconstruction and expansion of the aging restaurants in the west area of Prince Grand Resort Karuizawa, the renewal of the existing buildings, beloved by many through the years, was in response to the increasing demand for better Meeting, Incentive travel, convention and Exhibition Event (MICE) Facilities.

The grand concept being “Nature Link – Connecting both with and to Nature, envisaged as a new all-season type of resort, some of the large existing chestnut trees on site were reused as a major building material for the renewal featuring the 100-year-old memories related to the site as an informal reminder upon welcoming the guests to the new facilities. In the same manner, many of the other materials incorporated were characteristically “Karuizawa” in essence with new terraces using Asama stone and local larch pine from Nagano prefecture introduced to connect the various zones in continuity as well as creating a seamless boundary between the outside and the inside.

All-Day-Dining and Lounge bar named “Primrose”, reflects the four seasons in Karuizawa,  with the large open indoor space divided into areas of “Spring”, “Summer”, and “Autumn to Winter” according to their sub-themes in color gradually changing in scheme whist giving a sense of unity. Yet again the aged timber and newly installed color glass partitions discretely separate each space, creating a natural atmosphere in each area. The showcase kitchen at “Peach Lee” in the Chinese restaurant, clad in large Anji stone, the sub-theme is based on Karuizawa’s gentle terrain, and the strength of earth with artwork displayed representing wild flowers blooming in Karuizawa plateau to evoke the charm of seasonal colors in nature at Karuizawa. On the other hand, the large public bath in the hot spring building has a large opening to picture frame the majestic Mt. Momiji in the background seen from the hot spring, while relaxing and enjoying a dip under the maple leaves that turn red in autumn.

Location  

Songjiang is surrounded by Huangpu River, which flows from Dianshan Lake, one of the water villages in Jiangnan, and is home to countless historical waterways.  

 The site is located as a horseshoe-shaped district in a new development area, which is expected to become the new core for Songjiang area. The horseshoe-shaped green park and the lake park with its widened waterways are located in close proximity to Guangfu Lin Road, being developed in unison with this project to create a wonderful environment.  

Overall layout plan  

The new Hyatt Regency Hotel facing the lake park on the south side and the shopping mall aligned along Guangfu Lin Road on north, comprises shopping and hotel banquet halls on the west side, with the office tower located on the east side.  

 Concept  

The image of the building is based on a sailing ship passing through the waterway.  

The tower facade is made of glass curtain walls to blend in with the shimmering surface of water on the lake, and the side elevations made of vertical metal ribs resemble a waterfall from the sky.  

• The hotel’s lobby lounge, restaurant, banquet facilities, guest rooms, swimming pool, gym, and other public facilities are located close to the water’s edgeand offer spectacular views of the lake and the green horseshoe park. 
• The hotel will be used by visitorsas a luxury waterfront destinationin the new development zone, with its prestigious architecture and landscape designed in an integrated manner.