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Step into the newly reopened Okura Tokyo, and you might be forgiven for believing in the existence of time travel.
That’s because the lobby, where John Lennon or Steve Jobs might have relaxed when they stayed, was demolished four years ago, to the dismay of patrons of the iconic hotel. And now it’s back, seemingly plucked from the past. During the hiatus, craftsmen recreated and restored the gold-hued space adorned with discreet touches [...].
— Bloomberg
Bloomberg writer Reed Stevenson visits Japan's iconic and recently reopened Okura Tokyo (formerly Hotel Okura) after undergoing a substantial $1 billion makeover. Fearing that the unique and charming mix of 1960s mid-century modern and traditional Japanese architecture, especially in the lobby... View full entry
Intel is collaborating with NEC to provide "a large-scale face recognition system for the Olympics," said Ricardo Echevarria, general manager of Intel's Olympics program. The system is designed to let Olympics organizers "ensure smoothly secure verification for the over 300,000 people at the games who are accredited," he said. People using it will register with photos from government-issued IDs, he added. — CNET
Facial recognition will be used by the organizers to keep track of athletes, staff, volunteers, and other individuals involved with the event. The general public will not be involved in the effort. The 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo will mark the first time that the event makes wide-spread use... View full entry
The summer season is coming to a close, and fall is almost here. What better way to start the new season than by putting your skills to the test and gaining valuable experience at a notable firm? When making career decisions, it's important to find a firm that will help challenge you as a design... View full entry
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects (PCP) and Japanese "urban landscape developer" Mori Building have unveiled renderings for a new "modern urban village" slated for Tokyo's Minato City. PCP has designed the project's three towers, including the project's centerpiece, a 1,080-foot spire slated to... View full entry
Tatsuyuki Maeda, a member of the Nakagin Capsule Tower Building Conservation and Regeneration Project, hopes the building will be spared both for its place in architectural history and because of its popularity with tourists. If he had his way, it would not only be preserved but improved, restored to its original state. — CityLab
Reports about the fate of the Kisho Kurokawa-designed Nakagin Capsule Tower — and likely most popular example of the Japanese Metabolist Architecture movement — have been from swaying from planned demolition to possible protection in recent years. Marie Doezema's CityLab piece tries to... View full entry
Heatherwick Studio has commenced construction on the redevelopment of the Tarnomon-Azabudai district of Tokyo. the project is due to complete in March 2023 and is Heatherwick Studio's first project in Japan to move into construction. The studio focused on the "public realm and lower-level podium... View full entry
INT: Do you think sustainability in architecture is less of an issue in Japan?
KK: Historically, traditional Japanese architecture uses very sustainable designs that incorporate features such as natural ventilation instead of air conditioning, and things like that. But in the 20th century, as Western culture came to Japan, we forgot these kinds of designs. That’s what I’m trying to go back to.
— It's Nice That
"My dream is to start my own school and pass my lessons on to younger generations in the same way that Frank Lloyd Wright did with his School of Architecture at Taliesin [in Wisconsin]," Kengo Kuma told It's Nice That when asked about his future aspirations. "He has inspired me in many ways, but I... View full entry
Orange, mango, strawberry, lime. If an apartment could be said to be bursting with fruit flavor it would be this three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Tokyo’s Nagatacho district, renovated by Adam Nathaniel Furman, a British architectural designer, for a pair of very adventurous clients over the past two years. — The New York Times
Adam Nathaniel Furman has recently completed a spectacular new renovation for an adventurous couple's apartment in Tokyo’s Nagatacho district. Interior of apartment, designed by Adam Nathaniel Furman. Photo by Jan Vranovsky.The renovation is significant for its novel use of colors, textures... View full entry
Hudson Yards may appear to be a made-in-NYC development, but in actual fact, it took its blueprint from a similar neighborhood in Tokyo known as Roppongi Hills, which broke ground in the 1990s and opened in 2003. While there are a few notable differences—you won’t find any rice paddies on the roofs of Hudson Yards’ buildings, for one—the similarities are striking. But in many respects, this is no surprise—architectural firm KPF played a hand in the design of both developments. — 6sqft
It’s a radical way of thinking about advertising, especially for a company that has a “no label” ethos and hasn’t run traditional ad campaigns since the company launched in 1980. Instead of slapping its name on its products or shoving ads in people’s faces, Muji wants to invite customers to the Muji Hotel to experience the “anti-brand” lifestyle it’s selling. — Fast Company
It is hard not to fall in love with MUJI, the famed household and consumer goods company from Japan uses their "no label" branding tactic to win consumers over throughout the years. With the news of MUJI opening their first hotel in the company's hometown of Ginza, people can now stay in a... View full entry
After announcing the launch of its Reserve Roastery in Tokyo back in 2016, Starbucks has now given a look inside the Kengo Kuma-designed space. The store is Starbucks’ fifth Reserve Roastery, and the second time that the concept has opened outside of North America, following the Milan location launched last year. — Hypebeast
The four-story coffee temple in Tokyo's Nakameguro neighborhood opened to the caffeine-deprived morning crowds at 7 a.m. today. "The Tokyo Roastery is the only Starbucks Roastery location designed in collaboration with a local architect from the ground up," explains the project description. Image... View full entry
Architecture and film have had a longstanding partnership. Many iconic blockbuster hits would not have been the same without the magic of talented set and stage designers. If you're planning your next movie marathon, check out these 7 famous hotel rooms that have dawned the big screen. Thanks to... View full entry
The work of Japanese photographer Hisaharu Motada envisions what Tokyo might look like in some version of the future. Offering glimpses of doomsday, Motoda's lithographs depict deserted cityscapes, crumbling buildings, monuments overgrown with weeds, and other markings of a post-apocalyptic world... View full entry
But so far, things have remained “on schedule,” and the Olympic stadium is on pace to be completed by the end of next year. [...]
Takeo Takahashi, the general manager of the stadium project, told the media that “roughly four-tenths” of the construction has been completed, but the situation is “as planned.”
— The Japan Times
It's been deliberately quiet around the NEW New National Stadium in Tokyo after the original, winning design by Zaha Hadid Architects was publicly attacked, and eventually officially canceled by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe himself, and a replacement Olympic Stadium scheme was hastily selected from a... View full entry
A venture firm and a major taxi company began trials of passenger-carrying autonomous taxi services on Monday with an eye on launching the full service around 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Olympics and the Paralympics.
ZMP Inc., a Tokyo-based developer of autonomous driving technology, and Hinomaru Kotsu Co., said they are the first in the world to offer autonomous taxi services to fare-paying passengers in the test through Sept. 8.
— Japan Times
Other tech companies and automakers have also been testing autonomous driving services in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. If the Tokyo RoboCar MiniVan trial is successful, officials hope to scale up the program to assist with the increased transportation demand during the 2020 Summer Olympics and... View full entry
