Nacasa & Partners
Designer: Gwenael Nicolas, Curiosity
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Client: Panorama Hotels One
Project area: 600 sqm
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Nacasa & Partners Nacasa & Partners
The MIXX Bar & Lounge at the ANA Intercontinental Hotel in Tokyo recently opened with an interior space and logo created by Curiosity.
Spanning 600 square metres at the top of the 36-floor hotel, MIXX is a
playful exploration of light and shadows offering an atmospheric window
over the city of Tokyo. Nacasa & Partners
Against a palette of neutral grey beige are multilayered materials of
washed wood, rayskin covering, hammered bronze and stone complemented
by textured fabrics handcrafted by textile designer Reiko Sudo of Nuno.
The space fuses traditional craftsmanship and Japanese art with
modern design to create an invisible connection with the nation’s rich
cultural heritage. The overall effect? One of softness, designed to
highlight and enhance the sharp digital portrait of modern Tokyo that
unfolds through the windows. Nacasa & Partners
The entrance is marked by a “gate of light”: a wall of floating white
fabric sculptures reflected through a play of mirrors, their delicacy
balanced against the dynamism of the lighting.
Covering the floors is a uniquely designed carpet whose hues and
patterns evoke the natural outdoor moss formations of a traditional
Japanese garden. plan
The first of three areas is an open bar space – complete with a
randomly placed high counter, a warm and sociable spot for friends and
dates meeting for cocktails or pre-dinner aperitifs before visiting the
Pierre Gagnaire restaurant on the same floor.
Next is the main bar area. A signature 10 meter long counter sets a
bold tone, taking centre stage against a backdrop of windows that reveal
Mount Fuji by day and Tokyo’s digital light show by night. Nacasa & Partners Nacasa & Partners
Finally, there is the lounge. A white artwork of fabric hovering in
the dark marks entrance, leading to a central table and more intimate
sofas tucked snugly into the zig-zag line of windows that surround the
space. Cocooned by a series of vertical lights, the lighting dynamically
cuts through the atmospheric dark space.
True to its status as a hotel bar and a starting point for many first
time Tokyo visitors, the three spaces that make up MIXX are carefully
crafted to complement the urban landscape beyond its windows and act as
an ambassador for the city.
Courtesy of AUM arquitetos
Sao Paulo-based AUM arquitetos have won a competition to design the Regional Council of Administration in Santa Catarina, Brazil. More images and architect’s description after the break. Courtesy of AUM arquitetos
The strategy of implementation of the Regional Council of
Administration of Santa Catarina was based on the exploitation of the
topography and its potential visual axes.
The program is distributed in two parts: the base, which includes the
auditorium, plenary halls and chambers of courses, and the tower that
houses the offices. Courtesy of AUM arquitetos
The tower has only four supports, with spans of 20 meters in the
longitudinal way and 10 meters in the transverse direction. Two steel
beams with 30 meters structure the pavements’ slabs through metal rods
every 5 meters.
Facing the sea, the position of the elevators allows all users of the
building to enjoy a privileged view. To enhance the visuals to the sea
and to the forest through the building, some modules go beyond the basic
dimension of the tower, ranging from 1 to 2 meters in balance. These
advances in the modules generate terraces on the upper floors, where it
proposes to use a green cover to contribute to the thermal comfort of
the building, and creating a pleasant work space. elevation
Architects: AUM arquitetos
Location: Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Authors: André Dias Dantas, Bruno Bonesso Vitorino and Renato Dalla Marta
Collaborators: Aline Pek, Chan Hua Xin, Davi Lacerda, Filipe
Romeiro, Maíra Baltrush, Mariah Carlini, Mariana Wilderom, Nathália
Fávaro, Sarah Mota Prado, Victor Vernaglia, Alan Holanda, Aline
Cerqueira, Carolina Paoletti and Germano Liao
Photographs: Courtesy of AUM arquitetos
