Art BlackBook & Design
Art BlackBook & Design Checking High ArtIn Clockwise from left: the Escher-esque Green Tower at Shiroiya Hotel, in Maebashi; the art-filled lobby at Tower Hotel Nagoya; an architectural model of Maison Owl Heritage Tower, which features Lawrence Weiner’s redefining bold exterior, is an impressive four-storey atrium of the original concrete structure outlined with an installation, Lighting Pipes, by Leandro Erlich, while the Green Tower has an eyecatching, plant-covered façade that echoes the nearby bank of the Tone River. The interiors burst at the seams with artworks by local talents as well as by internationally acclaimed installation artist Tatsuo Miyajima and photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, topped with four exclusively designed guest rooms by Sou Fujimoto, Leandro Erlich, Michele de Lucchi and Jasper Morrison. It doesn’t take architectural reinvention to bring a dose of the avant-garde. The Tower Hotel Nagoya (thetowerhotel.jp), nestled in Japan’s oldest TV tower, is an artpacked venture rooted in the local artistic community. There are 14 guest rooms, or rather 14 different installations by 10 artists, such as Aichi Triennale regular Shin Morikita, award-winning graphic designer Masao Shirasawa and multimedia artist Hiraki Sawa, to name a few of the creative dynamos flexing their muscles. Each artist incorporates a myriad of media and At Tower Hotel Nagoya, each artist incorporates a myriad of media and techniques, turning the guest rooms into unique – and mostly compelling – spaces techniques, turning the guest rooms into unique – and mostly compelling – spaces. The dedicated gallery space, with regular exhibitions by artists from the local Tokai region, can be converted into a bedroom as well, for those guests who simply can’t bear to be apart from the works on display. Aficionados in search of connecting with artists directly should seek out BnA_WALL (bnawall.com), which opened this April in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. The fourth hotel by the Tokyo-based BnA creative collective positions itself as a conduit to the local artistic community: a wall in the lobby is regularly reworked by commissioned artists, and the basement space known as Factory is a working studio space. Part of the nightly rate goes to the artist who designed your guest room, and so enthusiastic is BnA about the soirées, workshops and music performances on site that it claims the hotel will be a place “where guests go to get tired”. For those seeking quiet repose, there is nowhere more apt than the enchanting Maison Owl (maison-owl.com). A restaurant was designed by architect Junya Ishigami, a rising global star, which sits within a specially designed cave in Ube, the hometown of chef-owner Motonori Hirata. The one-of-a-kind destination, which opens this summer, will serve Hirata’s timeless French dishes and will offer select guests the opportunity to stay overnight in its magnificent grotto. What better way to dip one’s toe back into the world of travel? • PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: SHINYA KIGURE, © AMEBA HOLDINGS INC., © JUNYA. ISHIGAMI+ASSOCIATES 20 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM PLEASE CHECK THE LATEST GOVERNMENT ADVICE BEFORE BOOKING TRAVEL OR DEPARTING ON ANY TRIP
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