This Hotel in Japan Has Been Turned Into an Urban Forest Retreat By Sou Fujimoto.

Opened in the 70s, the Shiroiya Hotel welcomes guests for almost three hundred years. The building however closed in 2008 and remained vacant for a long time before the local businessman Jin Tanaka requested rehabilitation from Sou Fujimoto Architects.

By removing the old structure’s interior floors and replacing them with a grassy hill and cabins, Sou Fujimoto Architects reconstructed a hotel in Maebashi, Japan.

The Shiroiya Hotel was built on the grounds of a historic inn in the city centre.

Built in the 1970s and welcoming visitors for more than 300 years.

The local businessman Hitoshi Tanaka commissioned Sou Fujimoto Architects to restore the four-story facility since it closed in 2008 as part of the greater revitalization of Maebashi city centre.

It was intended to do more than simply refurbish the rooms and decorate the entrance. This led to the gutting of the interior, removing the floors and a part of the walls to allow a massive atrium to take root. In order to provide natural light, lights have been installed throughout the facility. The courtyard, which resembles a town square, is lush with vegetation. The long “curtains” which hang from the top floor are attracted to attention. Furthermore the room features a Light Tubes installation, which is inspired by the novel Invisible Cities, by the artist Leandro Ehrlich.

The architect decorated one of the façades with the work of US artist Lawrence Weiner and constructed a grassy hill on the other side to help bring the four-story tower into the landscape surrounding it. In addition, the mountains have also become a new urban area and a footpath — you can climb up stairs from the sidewalk to get a view of the road with birds’ eyes.

By creating a courtyard and paving the outside, the legendary architect resurrected this structure and established a seamless indoor-outdoor connection.

A four-story structure has been renamed the Heritage Tower with a newly reconstructed lobby, restaurant and reception area.

Written By Mahak Jain | Subscribe To Our Telegram Channel To Get Latest Updates And Don’t Forget To Follow Our Social Media Handles Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter. To Get the Latest Updates From Arco Unico