A new luxury hotel will be built in Kyoto, Japan. Buildings used to be used as elementary schools in..

사진 확대 Capella Kyoto Suite / Photo = Capella Kyoto

A new luxury hotel will be built in Kyoto, Japan. Buildings used to be used as elementary schools in the Miyagawa-cho Historical District are reborn as hotels. Japan’s world-renowned architect, Gengo Kuma and Associates, and Bruin Design Office designed the interior. Local history, craftsmanship, and modern design are captured in one space.

Capella Kyoto, which is scheduled to open next spring, has a modern reconstruction of the traditional Kyoto house Machiya. Light and materials naturally continue to create a calm atmosphere.

The hotel is adjacent to Kyoto’s oldest prefecture, Genniji, and is also close to the Kaburenjo Theater in Miyagawa-cho, where Keiko and Myko performances are held.

사진 확대 Gengo Kuma / Photo = Courtesy of Capella Hotel Group

There are 89 rooms in total. The idea was taken from the traditional Kyoto house Machiya, or the structure of the house, which is narrow and long inside. Tsuboniwa, a small garden, was placed throughout the room, adding to the room for breathing in the space. In the center of the hotel, a closed-type central pavilion was placed with a karahahu roof (a curved roof used in temples or traditional performance halls).

From the process of entering the hotel, Gengo Kuma depicts the feeling of walking through Kyoto Alley. They followed the route similar to the alley in the Gion area, passed through the Shoji Gate, listened to the sound of the water flowing, and made them experience the flow of narrowing the space and then reopening. Water was used as the main element in the Chuboni and garden and underground atrium.

The Bruin Design Office used Kyoto redwood, cypress, and bamboo in its rooms and public spaces. It is designed to change the spatial atmosphere according to the movement of natural light.

사진 확대 Capella Kyoto’s representative restaurant / Photo = Capella Kyoto

The dining area is a modernization of traditional Japanese architecture. The living room was inspired by Andon, a Japanese lantern, and used soft lighting. The 32-seat flagship restaurant starts at the Ochaya (traditional tea house)-type lounge and leads to an open kitchen. In the Japanese restaurant, wood and lighting used in the old Shinmichi Elementary School were used again.

Capella Kyoto has a low-rise exterior that naturally goes well with the scenery of Gion Alley. It was centered on the open Tsuboni, garden, and performance atrium. Our spa runs a wellness program inspired by the tradition of healing and regeneration.