Exquisitely designed and detailed the Aman Hotel was by far the most sophisticated submission for this category.

Occupying the top six-storeys of the KPF designed Otemachi Tower in the center of Tokyo’s Financial District, the hotel comprises 40 guest rooms and 40 suites above two floors of public spaces ringing the central top-lit lobby.

The six-storey ‘Washi Lantern’ lobby which the architects “envisaged as a contemporary Japanese garden, centered on a water feature and a seasonal ikebana arrangement” is the focus of the design. The lobby connects to an enfilade of public spaces on the periphery of the building taking advantage of views of the Tokyo skyline and the adjacent Imperial Palace.

As the architects stated in their submission “References to the strong design culture of Japan are made throughout the interior.”  This restrained design sensibility is evident from the lantern lobby (reminiscent of the wonderful lobby of the nearby Hotel Okura) and the surrounding public spaces and pool, to the residential simplicity and calm of the hotel rooms themselves. The Jury was in immediate agreement that the design holds true to their goal of interpreting Japanese architectural traditions of making space, materials and details in a way that seemed fresh, clear and uncompromised in this beautiful interior.