shiroiya hotel by sou fujimoto to open in maebashi, japan with designer guest rooms

designboom preview: shiroiya hotel, a new art and culinary destination in japan, is set to open its doors to guests. located in maebashi, a city that is just a two-hour drive north of tokyo, the hotel’s architecture and interior design has been carried out by sou fujimoto, while many of the guest rooms have been designed by creatives such as michele de lucchi, jasper morrison, and leandro erlich. the project has been conceived as a living room where both locals and travelers can relax and enjoy art, food, and nature.

‘green tower’ by sou fujimoto (also main image)
all images © shinya kigure, unless otherwise stated

shiroiya hotel comprises two main components: ‘heritage tower’, the previously existing hotel building that dates back to the 1970s; and ‘green tower’, a new building that appears from the outside as a piece of undulating landscape. responsible for both parts of the hotel as well as their interiors, sou fujimoto renovated the original structure by removing the floors and exposing the rough concrete surfaces. externally, visitors are welcomed by the artwork of lawrence weiner, while inside the architecture interacts with an artwork by leandro erlich titled ‘lighting pipes’.

‘heritage tower’ renovation by sou fujimoto, artwork by lawrence weiner

the ‘heritage tower’ contains 17 rooms, with many of them designed by creative minds from around the world. rooms by italian architect michele de lucchi and british designer jasper morrison utilize wood to great effect, while sou fujimoto and leandro erlich have each designed rooms that serve as a continuation of their work elsewhere in the project: sou fujimoto incorporates greenery and a sense of minimalism, while erlich again uses pipes to define the interior of the space. furthermore, each guest room exhibits unique artwork by local and international artists such as hiraku suzuki and ryan gander.

the lounge inside ‘heritage tower’ — interior by sou fujimoto, artwork by leandro erlich
image © katsumasa tanaka

made from locally grown ingredients, the hotel’s restaurant and lounge serves french and western cuisine respectively. notably, the main dining at the restaurant is supervised by hiroyasu kawate, the owner and chef of ‘florilege’ — a michelin 2-star french restaurant in tokyo. shiroiya hotel is ready to welcome its first guests from december 12, 2020, with reservations able to be made online.

the lounge inside ‘heritage tower’ — interior by sou fujimoto, artwork by leandro erlich
image © katsumasa tanaka

image © katsumasa tanaka

‘heritage tower’ — special room by michele de lucchi

‘heritage tower’ — special room by michele de lucchi

‘heritage tower’ — special room by jasper morrison

‘heritage tower’ — special room by jasper morrison

‘heritage tower’ — special room by jasper morrison

‘heritage tower’ — special room by leandro erlich

‘heritage tower’ — special room by leandro erlich

‘heritage tower’ — special room by sou fujimoto

‘heritage tower’ — special room by sou fujimoto

shiroiya hotel will officially open on december 12, 2020 — reservations can be made online

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project info:

name: shiroiya hotel
location: 2-2-15 honmachi, maebashi, gunma 371-0023 japan
rooms: 25 rooms (17 at heritage tower and 8 at green tower)
facilities: heritage tower: reception, restaurant, lounge | green tower: finnish sauna, mist sauna
structure: RC structure 4-story building
area: 2,565.46 sqm (heritage tower: 1,744.52 sqm and green tower: 820.94 sqm)
access: 15-minute walk from JR maebashi station; 1.5-hour from tokyo station by bullet train; 2-hour from tokyo by car

architecture and interior design: sou fujimoto
guest room design (special rooms): michele de lucchi, jasper morrison, leandro erlich, sou fujimoto
lighting design: hiroyasu shoji (light design)
textile: yoko ando
interior coordination: tomomi nagayama
signage and art direction: nanilani
restaurant direction: hiroyasu kawate (florilege)
planting supervision: solso