A lounge where you can enjoy both "WOW!" and "honesty"

──芦沢さんは「正直なデザイン」を掲げています。リビタからは、MIROKU 奈良の設計にあたって利用者を驚かせる“WOW！ファクター”が欲しいと要望しました。“正直”と“WOW！”をどうやって両立させたのですか？

正直なデザインは、自分や関係者とのコミュニケーションにも有効です。要件や時間の制約が積み重なると、どうしても正直ではない部分が出る。そこで不誠実にならずに、「オレは本当に正直なデザインだと思っている？」と自問自答するんです。MIROKU 奈良を正直なデザインで考えると、利用者が快適に奈良滞在を楽しむことが大切です。僕ができるのは、場所で“WOW！”と言わせながら快適な空間にすること。今回は吉野杉の大きな板が手に入ったので、ラウンジにその板を使ったテーブルを置きました。ラウンジでは「WOW！ なんて良い場所なんだろう！」という景色に出会えると思います。

-- I heard that Mr. Ashizawa went all the way to Yoshino to look at materials!

行きましたよ。MIROKU 奈良に宿泊する方も行ってほしいですね。吉野の木材は目が詰まっていて、良い状態で山を管理しているのが分かります。山を見上げて、この山から木材が生まれたと実感するのは良い経験だし、吉野杉・吉野檜が確固たるブランドを築いている理由がよく分かると思いますよ。

--The washi paper lamp stands out alongside the Yoshino cedar table. It has a strong presence, but also has the lightness that only washi paper can provide.

最初から和紙の照明にこだわっていました。東大寺の大仏の“どーん”とした存在感は奈良を表現するのにぴったりだと思っているのですが、和紙の照明も“どーん”と空間の中心になる大きさでインパクトがありますよね。MIROKU 奈良は遠くに見える早朝の春日山が最高ですが、日が暮れてチェックインしても“WOW！”を感じてほしくて、ラウンジに吉野杉のテーブルと和紙の照明を持ってきました。

──Lighting from Nara-based NEW LIGHT POTTERY is also used in some memorable locations during your stay at the hotel.

NEW LIGHT POTTERY's showroom is only in Nara, so guests may be interested and visit it during their trip. By incorporating local materials and brands into the hotel, you can experience what kind of things are made in the place you are traveling to. I think it will be a trip where you can experience the culture of the area from a different perspective, rather than simply visiting old buildings and art museums.

Feel the story that Ashizawa has put into the space

--Does the design approach change between the junior suite and the quadruple room with a loft bed?

That's right. When you try to create a room for four people in a limited area, there is sometimes only one spatial option. What I was careful about was to make sure that even if the toilet was visible from inside the room, it didn't look like a toilet door. If the door is clean, it will look clean when someone comes out of the toilet and the door will close.

The loft room with the bunk beds is finished very nicely. Until now, the legs were made of 2x4 square timber, but this time they are fitted nicely with steel legs. The finish is so good that I think we have left behind an asset that we have never had before. I don't think we will be able to go back to the way it was in future Share Hotels (laughs).

At the beginning of the design process, Mr. Ashizawa said, "Because Nara is a city that has existed for over 1,300 years, I want to view sustainability as meaning using essentially good things for a long time."

We needed styling within the hotel that would allow people to feel our interpretation of Nara. For that purpose, instead of buying new things, we used things like rotting wood from the mountains of Yoshino, scraps from NEW LIGHT POTTERY, and stones that hotel staff picked up in Nara Park... We want to use such things to shorten the distance between the space and the people, and bring in a new story. We think that styling that reuses local items is also a sustainable activity.

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芦沢啓治さんの奈良のお気に入り

No matter how many times you visit a famous tourist spot, there is always something new to discover
Todaiji Temple is really amazing! When you see it with your own eyes, you can see how it managed to survive for 1300 years. I also went through the "hole in the pillar", which is the same size as the Great Buddha's nostril and is said to grant good health and grant wishes.

Do things in Nara that you can't do in Kyoto
When traveling to Kyoto, you want to plan your trip so that you can see and eat at the places you want to visit and complete your schedule. However, when traveling to Nara, we recommend a more relaxed itinerary. After touring Nara's most famous tourist sites, such as Todaiji Temple and Toshodaiji Temple, and having a meal in the morning, why not do nothing in the afternoon and enjoy MIROKU Nara?

A long-established Narazuke shop with noteworthy architecture
I recommend the Narazuke pickles from Imanishi Honten, which was founded at the end of the Edo period. They are made with a focus on domestic ingredients and are very delicious. If you visit, be sure to check out the historic buildings along Sanjo Street.

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Keiji Ashizawa / KEIJI ASHIZAWA DESIGN

architect

Ashizawa graduated from the Department of Architecture at Yokohama National University in 1996. After graduation, he began his career as an architect and, after several years of producing furniture at Super Robot, established Keiji Ashizawa Architects in 2005. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, he founded Ishinomaki Laboratory, a public space designed to support the self-reliance of the local community. In 2014, he incorporated Ishinomaki Laboratory as a furniture brand. He is active in a wide range of fields, not only in architecture and interior design, but also in collaboration with furniture brands such as Karimoku and IKEA, as well as a pilot building project with Panasonic Homes. His works, which are created based on his philosophy of "Honest Design," which is consistent across everything from architecture and renovation to lighting and furniture design, have been highly praised both in Japan and overseas.