WorksHospitality

This project involved rebranding a 40-year-old hotel located near Kirishima Shrine at the foot of the Kirishima mountain range in Kagoshima Prefecture as "The Pulse Kirishima." A real estate investment fund purchased the former hotel and carried out a complete renovation. Our company handled the interior and exterior concept design of the entire building, and collaborated with a local general contractor for construction, achieving an opening in a remarkably short timeframe of approximately one year from the start of design work.

Loisir Hotel Shinagawa Seaside is located on an upper floor, with the front desk and conference rooms on the 16th floor and guest rooms on the 17th to 22nd floors, comprising seven floors in total. In this renovation, our company was responsible for renovating 50 guest rooms on the 18th floor. Taking advantage of the characteristics of the location and focusing on its excellent access to tourist attractions, we reflected concept design in the first experience of guests' stay. Based on the concept of "the space where the first step of a journey begins," we subdivided the stay experience and added concept design to that "first action," aiming to create a space where guests can feel hospitality. In addition, to take advantage of the unique scenery of the area, we incorporated the colors of the container terminal in the port area that spreads out in front of the hotel into the FF&E (Food, Fun, and Ease) area, integrating the outside scenery into the space as borrowed scenery.

We have renovated the "Mountain Center" located at the foot of the slopes of the "Niseko Tokyu Grand Hirafu" ski resort in Abuta District, Hokkaido. The facility has two floors, with a shop and ticket counter on the first floor and a restaurant on the second floor. In this renovation, the sales area on the first floor has been expanded to 1.6 times its original size, and the restaurant on the second floor has been renamed "sanshoku" and completely renovated along with the spatial design. We interpreted the facility as a place to send off guests arriving at Grand Hirafu onto the course, and a place to welcome guests returning from the course, and concept design it accordingly. We aimed to create a space that is cool yet somehow warm, with an experience that can only be found here, by blending the generous nature of Hokkaido, which embraces the resort, with the newly enhanced, cool brand identity symbolized by "Hirafu Blue," and scattering these elements throughout the lively space that is unique to a resort facility and offers once-in-a-lifetime encounters.

Tokiwakan, a ryokan inn in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, was beloved by many literary figures during the late Meiji period. The Ume Annex, originally built as a detached building, has been reborn as "THE COVE," a Gamagori Classic Hotel accommodation facility, offering a whole-house rental experience. Based on the concept of "encountering the blessings of the region surrounding Mikawa Bay and enjoying them with all five senses," the hotel makes the most of the renowned building, a registered tangible cultural property, and the views it commands, nestled on a hill overlooking Takeshima Island in the tranquil Mikawa Bay. Furthermore, by adding a touch of "newness" where necessary, the hotel creates a pleasant contrast and an extraordinary lodging experience. The hotel is packed with the charms of the region, featuring artwork using traditional techniques handed down in the area and the development of original drinks crafted by local people using local ingredients.

Ceravie Resort Izumigo Co., Ltd. operates hotels, cottages, and dog resort facilities in 11 locations across Japan. We were in charge of renovating the restaurant at "AMBIENT Azumino Hotel," a mountain resort surrounded by the Northern Alps. The background to the plan was to improve the efficiency of operations by expanding and consolidating the restaurant, which was previously divided into two floors, the basement and the first floor, onto the first floor, and to create a resort atmosphere with the magnificent Northern Alps visible from the observation terrace on the first floor, thereby improving the value of the customer experience. The plan was to create an extraordinary atmosphere using space, furniture, and decorations that reflect the region's unique culture, history, and crafts, and to create a new live kitchen that uses local ingredients to create cooking methods unique to the area, and to incorporate elements that will make customers want to stay again.

The prestigious Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka, which boasts a 90-year history and has been loved by many guests including state guests and members of the Imperial Family as "Osaka's guesthouse," has grand reopened as "Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka Vignette Collection" in anticipation of the opening of the Osaka-Kansai Expo in April 2025. This is due to the introduction of "Vignette Collection," one of the brands of IHG Hotels & Resorts. Inheriting the hotel's history and identity, and blending it with the charm of the beautiful scenery surrounding it, unique to the city of water, it has been reborn as a space that will be loved for generations. For this renovation, our company handled concept design of the entrance, reception, public areas, guest rooms, banquet halls, and gym, as well as working drawings and construction of the guest room area, art, and FF&E.

This hotel is directly connected to Kitahiroshima Station on the JR Chitose Line, the nearest station to "Hokkaido Ballpark F Village." The first to third floors are commercial facilities, and the fourth to thirteenth floors house the hotel with a total of 158 guest rooms. Our company was mainly in charge of concept design and construction of the hotel lobby and the 11th-floor guest room area, which is themed after the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. The lobby space is filled with baseball-themed touches, and the ceiling structure is designed to evoke the Fighters' home stadium, "Escon Field Hokkaido," and incorporates the Fighters' colors to create an exciting atmosphere. On the Fighters floor, the corridors are used as a gallery space to displays signed uniforms and photographs of the players, and the guest rooms are decorated in a chic black color scheme reminiscent of Escon Field, with views of the stadium from the windows.

This is a renovation project for an inn located in the western part of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture. This project is the second and third phase renewal of "Atara Yoru Nishiizu," named after a poem in the Manyoshu collection, "A wonderful night that is a pity to see it end." In the first phase, we renovated the suites and bar, in the second phase, we renovated the guest rooms, and in the third phase, we renovated the façade, lobby, rooftop terrace (foot bath), common corridor, and live kitchen, and we were in charge of the complete renovation. We created an experience where you can enjoy the evening, with spacious and comfortable guest rooms where young couples and married couples can relax, a lobby where you can roast and eat marshmallows while soaking your feet in a foot bath, and a rooftop terrace with a foot bath where you can enjoy watching the horizon of Nishiizu.

We concept design the entire house, from design administration concept design the interior and concept design. The site overlooks the Sea of Japan, and the surrounding area is characterized by a complex, intricate ria coastline, known as a scenic spot with dynamic geological formations called "caves." Looking at the surrounding area, a labyrinthine network of alleys creates a unique streetscape. This is a characteristic of the region, with its cranked, square-shaped intersections designed to prevent northerly winds from blowing through. By incorporating this unique alley configuration into the first-floor plan, we segmented the building volume and harmonized it with the surrounding environment. The exterior and entrance hall are designed to resemble the topography of the ria coastline, and the setback from the south ensures continuity with the streetscape. On the other hand, the north facade is raised one level above the surrounding area, creating a three-dimensional, square-shaped structure intended to prevent northerly winds from blowing through into the town. Regarding the exterior finish, in order to reflect the distinctive appearance of the ria coast, where the lower part is rocky and the upper part is covered with trees, we used exposed aggregate concrete to resemble rock on the lower layer and wood-grain concrete made with cedar formwork on the upper layer. Both the aggregate that is exposed on the surface and the cedar formwork materials are locally sourced, and we hope that the unique texture created by these materials will weave the distinctive scenery of the location into the future. In addition, this two-tiered structure is also applied to the interior finishes, creating a sense of unity with the architecture and contributing to the development of a cohesive feel between the interior and exterior.

Located near Kokusai Street in Naha City, this hotel has a total of 88 guest rooms. It encompasses a variety of spaces, including four restaurants, a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna, and a gym. Inspired by the mixed culture that is a fusion of diverse cultures unique to Okinawa, concept design concept is mid-century modern, aiming to create a hotel with a narrative quality, as if it had always stood there.

We exhibited "Being: The Existence of Furniture" at "DESIGNART TOKYO 2024," Japan's largest concept design and art festival (theme: "Reframing - The Beginning of Transformation -"). "Being: The Existence of Furniture" is a project that reconsiders the relationship between people and objects. In our projects concept design spaces, we create many objects every day, but behind the scenes, we feel a great challenge in that these objects are discarded or left unused even though they are still perfectly usable. When we consider situations where an object is used carefully for a long time, a relationship is often formed in which an attachment to the object sprouts. At such times, we realize that we have gone from a feeling of "owning and using" the object to a feeling of caring for it and "being together" with it. Therefore, we thought that noticing this change in feeling might be one way to solve the problem. The furniture presented in the project is not particularly sturdy or functionally superior. Rather, it has a certain instability and capriciousness, and possesses a nature that makes you want to care for it. If furniture transforms from something that "exists" to something that "is there," how will we interact with it? Through a series of experimental concept design in this project, we pose a question to society about the transformation of value between people and objects. Our company's vision is to "unlock all possibilities of space starting from the 'creativity' of each individual," and we are committed to creating spaces that enrich people's lives. As part of this, we challenge the social issues we face from a creative perspective and continue to exhibit at concept design events both domestically and internationally to create a cycle of communication, exchange, and innovation through output.

Set against the backdrop of 1920s America during the construction era, this bar is based on the "speakeasy" culture of that time, where alcohol was illegally sold under the guise of beauty salons or law offices. JANAI HOTEL is the third location in the "JANAI" series of secret bars, incorporating the speakeasy mechanism, creating a gathering place only for those who find the concept intriguing. Opening a painting that doesn't look like a door leads to a secret bar accessible only to those who decipher the access code. Our company was responsible for design, layout, and architectural design.

This is a trial project towards "creating an inclusive stadium where everyone can enjoy themselves." For the first time, "Sensor-Friendly Tickets" will be sold at the professional baseball Eastern League official game to be held on Sunday, September 22, 2024, with the cooperation of the organizers, The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nippon Television, and Tokyo Dome.

The pediatric department entrance on the first floor and the treatment room on the fifth floor of the Maternal and Child Medical Center at the Jikei University Hospital were renovated to create a space that would make the hospital more appealing and familiar to children and their guardians. This project was initiated by Professor Kimihiko Oishi, medical director and head of the Pediatrics Department at the Jikei University Hospital, who, based on his experience working in the medical field in the United States, felt that the current space in the hospital was new and beautiful, but was it a comfortable place for children? What about their families? And what about the staff who work there? Sega Sammy Holdings agreed with the desire of Professor Oishi and the pediatric ward staff to "enrich the lives of children in the hospital," and decided to support the Jikei University Hospital through content and Sega characters.

This is a renovation project for the hotel "The Mana Village" located at the tip of Cape Ashizuri in Kochi Prefecture. The project began in 2020 to transform the former Ashizuri Pacific Hotel into one of Asia's leading resort hotels, "The Mana Village." In this project, we added value to two new types of guest rooms, the common areas, and the infinity deck. The new guest rooms consist of seven Japanese-style rooms and a concept room designed by young hotel staff and our designers, with the aim of providing a "new way to enjoy the ocean like art" while also promoting the charm of Kochi and connecting Kochi with our guests. This is an ongoing project in which we will share the hotel's transformation with our guests over time, building up their expectations.