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AMAN TOKYO A


lthough the sixth Aman to be designed by Singapore-based Kerry Hill Architects, Aman Tokyo called for a very


distinctive treatment. “Commencing eight or nine years ago, we were engaged to carry out the project’s space planning and interior design,” confirms award-winning director Kerry Hill, an architect with a 40-year-plus track record. “Together, with the vision of [Aman founder] Adrian Zecha, and my long-held respect for Japanese culture, we approached the design in a way that refers to that culture. But since a big hotel at the top of a high-rise is not the traditional Japanese place to start, the project needed to be part of the modern, global world. So perhaps the design is in the details, our interpretation of Japanese materials and textures and the sense of quietness.” Conceived as an urban sanctuary, Aman Tokyo references vernacular buildings


in Japan through a limited palette of materials translated in a contemporary manner. Landscaping at the tower’s entrance and an inner garden in the lobby, structured around Japanese rock sculptures and a seasonal ikebana display, reveal a reverence for nature. Above the ikebana, the hotel’s centrepiece is a 27m-high soaring ceiling feature created with layers of textured washi paper, which appears as a large lantern showcased by natural and ambient lighting. This interplay of light and shadow is fundamental to the hotel’s design, as is the Japanese concept of engawa. In traditional homes, engawa refers to the intermediate space between the garden and living areas in which families gather informally to socialise. Usually a wooden passageway, it has been embraced from the hotel’s lobby through to guestrooms and over to the spa, where a timber-washed corridor welcomes guests post-treatment to look out over Tokyo, sip tea and chat through lifestyle advice with their therapist.


The hotel’s centrepiece is a huge


lantern, made from textured Japanese washi paper, which lights the lobby


Harmonious transitions Since fluidity is another key principle, materials such as basalt, granite, ash and chestnut flow through the hotel’s spaces including the spa reception. Here Aman Tokyo’s sense of space is celebrated with a homely, open-plan layout and views to the city beyond. Greg Payne, Amanresorts group spa director, collaborated closely with Kerry Hill through the spa’s development and notes that the hotel’s overall aesthetic suits a wellbeing environment: “The use of wood and filtered light lends warmth and


Aman’s group spa director Greg Payne


©CYBERTREK 2015 spabusiness.com issue 2 2015 53


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