HULIC Square Tokyo The Gate Hotel Tokyo by HULIC

This is a shopping and hotel complex completed near the Sukiyabashi intersection in Ginza, Tokyo. The site is located at the intersection of two distinct neighborhoods: the vibrant downtown area on the Ginza side, the office district lined with buildings along Daimyo-koji Street on the Yurakucho/Marunouchi side, and the hustle and bustle of the Hibiya side, which leads to the underpass. Furthermore, it is surrounded on three sides by the JR tracks, the elevated expressway, and Harumi-dori, and its connection to the city changes in elevation between ground level, the elevated expressway, and the high-rise level.

The architecture maximized its footprint and increased density, while aiming to reconstruct the city's relationship with the area, which not only expands horizontally but also changes vertically. The expressway on the south side was created by filling in the Sotobori River prior to the recent Tokyo Olympics. Due to the meandering of the river, the site is tilted relative to the grid, with the corner of the site located on an extension of the axis of Daimyo-koji and Harumi-dori. facade on the Harumi-dori side of the upper floors offsets its volume to accommodate this axis, and the guest rooms are arranged with a cantilevered, all-glass curtain wall. The corner-less rooms offer panoramic views, embodying the hotel's concept of "integrity with the city." The hotel lobby on the fourth floor also features a terrace and greenery, functioning as a public urban space connecting with the remaining space above the expressway. By capturing the urban space in three dimensions, we created a new urban open space and a vibrant city.