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OUR HOTEL DESIGN

OUR HOTEL DESIGN

Hotel design that leads a new era and culture

JMA/PCPAJ handles all kinds of types of hotels inside and outside of Japan. JMA / PCPAJ has specialists in various fields such as Architecture, Landscape, Interior, and Mono-Koto Design (product signs, etc.). The fusion of these fields opens all kinds of possibilities in hotel designing.
Specialists in each field continue to think and propose every day to design a hotel that will be loved by many people for a long period , not only by fulfilling clients’ requests, but also understanding various factors such as the flow of the times, history, environment, and culture.
At this roundtable discussion, the four staff members who have contributed significantly to the JMA / PCPAJ hotel projects, based on their experience, will talk about what is essential to design a hotel that will satisfy not only the clients but also the guests and everyone around them, and also about how hotels should be like in the future.

Shigeki Irie

Architect,
Managing Officer, Project Director

WORKS / Kyoto Yura Hotel MGallery, TOYOSU BAYSIDE CROSS, HOTEL CANATA KYOTO, Coca-Cola(Japan)Company, Limited Headquarters Building
Taido Yamano

Director,
Interior Design Dept.

WORKS / DoubleTree by Hilton Okinawa Chatan Resort, Hilton Okinawa Chatan Resort, Arkhills Sengokuyama Mori Tower, Tokyo International Airport International Passenger Terminal
Erika Abe

Associate

WORKS / Kyoto Yura Hotel MGallery, PREMIST Ariake Gardens, Prestige International Akita BPO Yokote Campus, BAYZ TOWER & GARDEN
Satoshi Matsumoto

Director,
Landscape Design Dept.

WORKS / Mitsui Garden Hotel Roppongi Tokyo Premier, Mitsui Garden Hotel Toyosu Bayside Cross, PREMIST Ariake Gardens, Tsunashima Sustainable Smart Town

Yamano

Recently, the way of using hotels has diversified, and it is no longer just a "destination accommodation". Even if you don't go far, you can easily enjoy " Extraordinary" by visiting a hotel. Various hotels are open to meet the diversifying demands. For myself, the hotel experience has changed to a way of using it as an opportunity to enjoy a slightly extraordinary space in a short stay.

Abe

Just enjoying the bars and restaurants at the hotel without staying, is quite an enjoyment.

Yamano

I think the feeling of "hotel = fun" has increased. I feel that the casual sense of going out for dinner to a hotel rather than staying, is increasing.

Irie

I thought design for appearance is essential for a fun experience, but service is also as important. I stayed at a hotel in Gora. The serviceman had noticed that I was left-handed while moving from check-in at the front desk to my room. When I had a meal later that day, the serviceman served the food from my left side. Receiving this kind of service is happier than just a good quality of OSE (operational equipment). They also remembered my name immediately. Attentive and courteous service is also a factor in improving the quality of the hotel.

Matsumoto

On the other hand, if you have too much caring service, you may not feel comfortable. We also need services that gives us a good sense of distance.

Yamano

The number of hotels that have a friendly atmosphere and do not provide excessive service has increased recently. However, some hotels value Japanese hospitality, and as there are various options, there is also the idea that you can choose the services. Hotel services themselves have become more diversified.

Matsumoto

Do you feel that the coronavirus incident has changed the face-to-face communication at hotels?

Abe

Yes, it has. I feel that more hotels have customers sit on the sofa in the entrance lounge and check in, which they used to do it at the front desk. They were trying not to create a crowd around the front desk.

Yamano

The lobby space is one of the vital places that represent the way the hotel is. In general, famous hotels in the city center that everyone knows often have a space structure with a counter and an area to place luggage. On the other hand, hotels in Okinawa, provide space that captures customers’ perspectives of wanting to spend a relaxing time, and I feel that the service has changed accordingly.

Abe

The floor on which the main entrance is located also depends on the hotel, and hotels with high price range have them on the middle and upper floors.

irie

In case of buildings, there are some cases where the entire building is a hotel, such as a porch with a bellman on the first floor, and a reception on the upper floor.

Yamano

For me, the view is a crucial point when choosing a hotel, and the hotel on the upper floors of the tower will be a good selling point. On the other hand, for the interior, I feel that it is essential to create a story for everything from the entrance to the guest room with a design.

Matsumoto

Regarding Mitsui Garden Hotel Roppongi Premier (hereinafter Roppongi Hotel), the lobby was planned to be on the 1st floor from the beginning, and at the early design, a cafe was also proposed on the same floor, and if you pass through it, a reception desk will appear, and I thought that this kind of urban atmosphere would be great.

Yamano

Where the entrance can be placed is essential, considering the traffic volume on the front road, and how to create a space where people feel comfortable are required.

Matsumoto

By the way, Kyoto Yura Hotel MGallery (hereinafter referred to as M Gallery) is a sequence that enters from the alley on the Nijo Castle side and connects from a fairly narrow approach to the back, which is designed in the image of Kyomachiya (traditional house made of woods in Kyoto).

Abe

The key points of hotels designing in tourist destinations were "amount of knowledge" and "thinking about uniqueness." The deep history of the land of Kyoto, where the M Gallery is built, was difficult for me to figure out. People who come to Kyoto for sightseeing may know better. There were a lot of points that I needed to know at first. I had a hard time trying to understand the uniqueness of Kyoto.

Yamano

So how did you adopt it into your design?

Abe

As Mr. Matsumoto said, we designed the entrance to go through a narrow alley in a zigzag manner, and in the end, the entrance lobby was opened from a narrow space, and the speed was adjusted. I took in the special feeling of being in a forest surrounded by a moat and a castle wall so that I could feel it after entering the interior.

Matsumoto

On the other hand, what is the difference between HOTEL CANATA KYOTO (hereinafter referred to as CANATA), which is in front of Kyoto Nijo Castle like M Gallery?

Irie

Many people come to Kyoto for sightseeing, and by the time they arrive at the hotel after traveling around various places, they will be tired. That's why the concept was "a hotel where you don't have to do anything". At the minimum, only materials such as wood and brass are alive in the interior, and unnecessary decoration is omitted as much as possible. The idea of seeing Nijo Castle is the same, but while M Gallery has the theme of so-called “Kyoto-ness”, CANATA did not adopt the use of card keys which is becoming a mainstream, but adopted normal keys aiming to create a hotel where you can feel the warmth of people by using analog things.

Yamano

There are many restrictions on the landscape in Kyoto, but how did you devise that area?

Irie

In terms of CANATA, to adopt the viewpoint of landscape, glass handrails were used. Sleeve walls were attached to both sides to create a balance between openness and landscape. M Gallery uses methods different from CANATA, such as double roofing to express fineness and shadows, and considering the landscape by looking at the balance of openness between the bamboo blinds and the louvers of the handrails.

Abe

Exactly. At M Gallery, the surrounding cityscape was lined with tiled roofs of Machiya of the same size, so we matched the height of the roof with the tiles and connected the eaves. I learned from the scenery of Kyoto around here.

Irie

When designing CANATA, there were some parts that I was working on without worrying about the theory of hotel designing, such as the fact that there are only few cases of horizontally long guest rooms in Japan. However, by doing it without being bound by the original theory, I was able to create a unique guest room, and as a result, I feel that it became quite interesting.

Matsumoto

The horizontally long shape room that gives a wide view of Nijo Castle at a location like this is good indeed.

Irie

The guest room located on the opposite side of Nijo Castle is designed to read and enjoy in the room. Just like your very own room. Because it was a small scaled hotel, we aimed to create a hotel that would make people want to stay many times by preparing each room with different designs.

Abe

On the other hand, DoubleTree by Hilton Okinawa Chatan Resort (hereinafter referred to as DoubleTree Chatan) is large scaled, but did you experience any unique incidents as it was a large scaled hotel?

Yamano

In the case of brand hotels, there are many common standards throughout the world, and at DoubleTree Chatan, it was important to explore the meaning of those standards. For example, since there are many typhoons in Okinawa, it was necessary to make proposals beyond existing standards, such as making it possible to store balcony furniture in each guest room properly. It's interesting to know these rules.

Matsumoto

What were other characteristic standards?

Yamano

For example, there is a standard height for the bed head, and it has to be a height that there is no problem with the head not hitting even if you sit on the bed. The standard way of thinking is different in various hotels, such as not being able to put art overhead.

Irie

Mr. Matsumoto has experienced both the Roppongi Hotel, a one-building hotel in the city center, and the Mitsui Garden Hotel TOYOSU BAYSIDE CROSS (hereinafter Toyosu Hotel), which is an urban complex hotel on the upper floor of TOYOSU BAYSIDE CROSS. How did you feel about the difference?

Matsumoto

Firstly, the location is entirely different. For example, what makes the Roppongi Hotel built in the downtown area of Roppongi, give a special feeling? As for the landscape, it is apparent that it is a unique space at eye level, but we aimed to design it to be cut off from the hustle and bustle of the outside. As for the interior, with a fabric layer, we separated it from the outside world, but even in the landscape, we carefully considered and we made two layers of evergreens and deciduous trees and changed the special feeling when you go inside. The difference when viewed from the inside and outside etc.

Yamano

As in Kyoto and Chatan, the scenery and landscape are the extraordinary triggers that separate the hustle and bustle. I think the landscape has a role to play in directing it. Surrounded by the wall of Doubletree Chatan, characteristic tree species such as banyan trees are planted, and you can feel the resort when you go there. Shouldn't the landscape at the hotel be there to transform the space into something extraordinary?

Matsumoto

This is especially true for a one-building hotel. On the other hand, Toyosu Hotel only has the rooftop courtyard as their landscape. The courtyard can be seen from the corridor after check-in. A courtyard space that can be seen from the guest rooms. In terms of the extraordinary sequence, it was important to have the courtyard make us feel the extraordinary feeling that was felt at the entrance and lobby. At Toyosu Hotel, I was kept in mind, for the guests to enjoy the rooftop courtyard as a view. The landscape of the Toyosu Hotel is based on the concept of "berthing", and the sparkle of the water surface is made of gravel and stone.

Yamano

Because there is a courtyard, you can feel that you have come to a different place than usual. M Gallery also has a courtyard. As an interior designer, such a courtyard is exciting.

Abe

There are two rooms on the first floor and although it is on the same floor as the restaurant and entrance lobby, the garden that can be seen from the guest room gives it a luxurious feeling, and the value of the guest room increases. It's nice to have a garden that can only be seen from that room.

Irie

What I thought after staying at the Roppongi Hotel was how the landscape looked good when I checked out. The outside light shined on the wall surface and the outside water, and I enjoyed the atmosphere completely different from nighttime. I feel that the role of a landscape is likely to change the most in the coming era. I believe　landscape will become something not only for seeing but also to be used.

Matsumoto

It may be interesting to provide green tourism in the hotel. Outdoor workation. I feel that there is a need for outside activities that are not only beautiful and lush but also refreshing and enriching communication with family and friends. I hope that we can propose landscape design including that.

Irie

One of my hotel client said, "I think about Coronavirus, but if I think too much about it, I can't make any profit. For example, I don't think it is necessary to divide the rooms and facilities into small pieces. When Coronavirus converges, it will be a shackle. I don't want to do that." I think it is important to understand the new way of being a hotel and think about the sense of distance between people. When we think about space, we need to be careful about that sense of distance.

Matsumoto

Even though 4LDK detached houses are selling well, I think many people prefer spacious hotels which is not divided into small spaces. I think it's good to have a moderate number of people there, and spend their time feeling the signs of others.

Abe

This is not limited to hotels, it feels good to be able to connect outside immediately. I hope that such a space will become more common. If the environment where you can remote work from anywhere becomes more generalized, I think that hotels may become closer to a place to live, rather than to stay.

Irie

When the lifestyle kind of hotels became popular, it felt like a hotel will listen to the selfishness that people envision. The style of a hotel which came out, as people’s life has become richer and various things have become normal. I wouldn’t propose the unique Japanese porch culture that allows the wind to pass through and provide a comfortable space just as it is, but recently I think it would be great if many Japanese lifestyle hotels could be exported overseas.

Yamano

Some hotel brands in Japan have already been exported. Such hotels have the axis of service as the top priority, attracting people with design and keeping people with good service. Conversely, the power of design is to create an environment where good service can be provided.

Irie

I feel that the exterior design only contributes to the hotel to a certain extent. In the end, service becomes important, and interiors are closely related to service.

Yamano

It is also important to consider the ease of service in the interior space. For example, when cleaning, it isn't easy to clean even if there is a 1 mm step, so I was asked to design the room easy to clean without changing the impression.

Matsumoto

In this way, the situation in the world, including hotels, changes day by day. Still, we at JMA / PCPAJ want to continue to be flexible to changes and provide designs that are based on customers, services, and all environments.

Irie

Yes indeed. Even if the needs have diversified, JMA / PCPAJ would like to accept flexibly, understand anything first, stays close, and value "dialogue" with our clients. In this way, we can propose exterior, interior, and landscape, or we can even collaborate and proceed with projects working together while bringing together various people. We would like to continue to provide designs that people will love for a long time in many ways.