Architectural Japonisme VII

Case Studies in 21st Century Architecture
 and the Preceding Decade  

建築のジャポニスム VII
1990年代～21世紀建築のケーススタディ

 
 

Photos: The Greenwich Hotel official website; caption text, credits to be added.

The Greenwich Hotel, in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, is the prize possession of Hollywood star, Robert De Niro, who grew up in neighboring Nolita.  Architect David Rockwell headed the renovations, working with interior designers Sarah Collum, Hatfield Design LLC, and the Belgium designer Axel Vervoordt, “aka the master of wabi-sabi” (theaficionados.com) who teamed up with architect/designer Miki Tatsuro to create the star attraction---the penthouse suite. 

The two designers “utilized the ancient Japanese aesthetic sense of wabi to create a meditative haven within the 6,800 square foot pied-a-terre.” Furthermore, the “top-level penthouse is designed to integrate as much as possible into the nineteenth century industrial neighborhood, using local materials, such as stone and reclaimed wood, providing an authentic feel for its guests and neighbors” (‘The Greenwich Hotel Tribeca Penthouse’ at archilovers.com).  That idea too is in tune with Japanese conceptions of traditional design. 

And it is clear that it is not only the penthouse and pool that reveal a traditional Japanese aesthetic.  The entire hotel, including the lobby and other guest rooms, while furnished with an eclectic array of collector items, are coordinating chromatically and spatially with a similar subdued, soothing, restrained aesthetic, as the pool and penthouse.

The Japanese aspect is merged with a variety of elements, but still recognizable in the shoji-like lighting wall and ceiling panels in the lounge or the exposed wood elements and rough surfacing in guest rooms, and in the general thematic treatment of the interiors.  Like the Japanese farmhouse transported thousands of miles away to become an indoor hotel pool interior, that influence may not be immediately recognizable to the untrained eye, being combined with collector Americana or ethnic artifacts, but is nevertheless undeniably there.