Bates Smart unveil designs for Ana Crowne Plaza Hotel in Kobe, Japan

Speaking at the Second Annual Global Hotels and Resorts Conference, Vietnam this week (24-25th September, Ho Chi Minh City), Bates Smart director, Brenton Smith unveiled the design concepts for the public spaces and hotel rooms of Ana Crowne Plaza Hotel in Kobe, Japan for Frasers Hospitality Asset Management.

Bates Smart’s design seeks to transform the lobby and ground floor food and beverage offer by taking inspiration from the local context and creating warm and authentic spaces. Drawing upon both Japanese minimalism and the traditional Zen garden, the design introduces natural materials such as stone and timber, in order to provide guests with an authentic local experience. The introduction of a traditional tea bar, brings much needed personality into the lobby space, while, tranquil seating zones located around the lobby are accompanied by rock gardens, which create valuable areas for guests to wait and reflect.

Bates Smart Director, Brenton Smith comments: “The interior concept for the ground floor tea bar has been inspired by the traditional Japanese tea room (Chashitsu). This elevated timber structure is surrounded with internal gardens and light wells above to enable the guest to meander through the lobby. The bar is smashed porcelain with gold inlay referencing the traditional Japanese art form of Kintsugi. These authentic touch points have been carefully integrated to tell a story and immerse the guest in a local experience.”

The hotel rooms will be refurbished with a sense of place by embracing warm and textured materials. The new rooms will echo design details from the lobby and provide a calm aesthetic, in line with contemporary Japanese residential interiors.

Bates Smart have also been working with Frasers Hospitality Asset Management to develop serviced apartment in Putrajaya, Malaysia as part of larger masterplan, currently under construction and the recently completed Novotel Sydney Darling Square Hotel. This scheme considers the appeals to both leisure and business travellers, designing a streamlined check-in and lobby experience considering functionality and quality design finish for the bar and all-day dining.