BETWEEN JAPANESE TRADITION AND CONTEMPORARY DESIGN
MARCEL Chair, CLAUDE Armchair, BLAVA Easy Chair by Ritzwell in harmony with the architecture, interiors and artworks of the Okura Hotel, give voice to the new spirit of the city of Kyoto.
Created by a renowned Japanese design firm, Rens/Nomura Co., Ltd., the Hotel Okura Kyoto Okazaki Bettei blends in perfectly with Higashiyama, the historic district of Kyoto where it is located, among splendid ancient temples and the lush surrounding nature. “This is possible thanks to the perfect and carefully studied balance between tradition and modernity”, as the designers explain. “Conceived as a place that can show guests the new face of Kyoto, aimed at taking its millennial artistic and craft culture into the immediate future, the hotel sets out to become an important destination in Japanese hospitality”. MARCEL Chair, CLAUDE Armchair, (design Shinsaku Miyamoto) and BLAVA Easy Chair (design Atelier D.Q.) by Ritzwell make a fundamental contribution to achieving this goal. “One of the reasons why we choose these furnishings,” the architects emphasise, “is because, with their high quality in design as well as in production, they embody the aesthetic heritage of the Japanese tradition and in this sense they are perfectly in line with the concept of the hotel”.
The spectacular architectural shape, echoing the hipped roofs of the city’s temples, opens outwards with broad windows to create a strong osmosis between the interiors and the Japanese-style garden. The spacious common areas, which are essential in their distribution and fluid and dynamic in their connections, are warmed up by CLAUDE Armchair and BLAVA Easy Chair combined with a contemporary décor made with precious natural materials like wood and bamboo. The large glass windows in the many relaxation areas of the sumptuous hall overlook the garden of the nearby Okazaki Betsuin Temple. All the conversation areas for guests, which are located along the sides of the corridors, are intimate and reserved and framed by horizontal lower ceilings with in-built indirect lighting reminiscent of the typical rooftops of Kyoto’s cityscape. Made-to-measure shelving systems in wood with hand-crafted bamboo paneling create an elegant atmosphere in the restaurant serving French cuisine that alternates open areas with other more intimate ones, divided by dedicated partitions.
Ritzwell’s MARCEL Chairs placed into this environment “has a beauty in its curves that seem to wrap around, with a design that harmonizes the space while adding rhythm.”
The rooms located on the upper floors welcome guests with two lanterns, in an atmosphere evoking the Japanese tea ceremony. The bed alcove is defined by wooden wainscoting with a small upper overhang hosting decorative pillars made in the typical local Kitayamasugi wood. The bed headboards are enveloped in Nishijin-ori textile from Hosoo and resemble the slightly rippled lakeshore water surface. Each environment distinguishes itself with a specific and carefully studied décor. Co-created with GO ON, an organisation composed by six craftsmen specialised in traditional arts, the hotel is lit up by the presence of their valuable works in wood, lacquer, tin, glass, and ceramics. The walls are decorated with the paintings of Japanese painter Tokuro Kojima. The MARCEL Chairs, which are combined with comfortable sofas in fabric inside the restaurant, and the CLAUDE Armchairs and BLAVA Easy Chairs in the common areas and guest rooms add quality to any space. “A choice – as the designers specify – dictated by the elegant and discrete aesthetics of the brand derived from the Japanese Wabi-sabi philosophy and the knowledge of Higashiyama culture which the project is inspired on”. Each element perfectly matches the concept of the hotel, which is aimed at offering its clients maximum comfort with high-quality furniture pieces that are a harmonious part of the spaces that host them.
The catalogue of Ritzwell’s products is available at this link.
Architect: Mitsubishi Jisho Design Inc.
Design: Nomura Co., Ltd. Rens Ryutaro Matsuura www.rens-design.jp
Photography: Nacasa&Partners
Products: MARCEL Chair, CLAUDE Armchair, BLAVA Easy Chair
RIVAGE EASY CHAIR AND JK EASY CHAIR 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION JOIN RITZWELL’S PERMANENT COLLECTION
RIVAGE EASY CHAIR 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION is the reedition of the armchair already in Ritzwell’s catalogue since 2011. It was presented in a limited edition during the 2022 Salone del Mobile. Milano to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary and has now become part of the continuative production.
The new RIVAGE EASY CHAIR 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION stands out due to the carefully studied volumes of the wooden structure and delicate stitching on the leather. The elegant hand stitched pattern that decorates the front and rear of the chair’s body combines the beauty of the single natural materials in a unique and consistent, design, which is at once resistant and refined. The skillful use of needle and thread represents the culmination of the meticulous manual work that Ritzwell’s expert craftsmen dedicate to the creation of every product.
JK EASYCHAIR 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION is the reedition of the iconic Ritzwell chair which was presented in a limited edition during the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2022 on the occasion of the brand’s 30th anniversary.
Now part of the Japanese manufacturer’s permanent collection, the new version of the armchair employs high-quality materials that are further enhanced by refined hand-crafted workmanship. The backrest is characterised by a generous cushion in fabric and dialogues with the slim leather seat, which is embellished by prominent hand stitching. The leather envelops the metal structure on both sides of the seat and gives rise to a clean and determined design capable of ensuring a high level of comfort.
