Creative minds from Japan and abroad gathered in Maebashi, Japan to revitalize the city that once prospered in the silk industry. Shiroiya Hotel is a living room for the locals and travelers to relax and enjoy art, food, and nature. It serves also as a cultural axis of Maebashi where various projects are in progress for the city to grow.
Sou Fujimoto Architects have renovated an old hotel building from the ’70s and created an atrium by taking down the floors and exposing the rough concrete surface. A space where the staircases interact with Leandro Erlich’s Lighting Pipes which remind of the traces of water pipes running through the old edifice in the past. This part is referred to as the Heritage Tower with the respect to the site where a history of more than 300 years of hotel business continues from the past.
Fujimoto also designed a new building called the Green Tower, resembling a hillock, a typical scenery of the region by the Tone River.
Visitors are welcomed by the artwork of Lawrence Weiner and Hiroshi Sugimoto when entering the premises. As if visiting a museum, each guest room exhibits unique artworks of the local and internationally acclaimed artists such as Tatsuo Miyajima and Ryan Gander.
Design and info © Sou Fujimoto Architects
Images © Shinya Kigure and Katsumasa Tanaka
