Shiroiya Hotel in Japan,
designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects
In the heart of Maebashi - once a bustling town in Japan's Gunma Prefecture, now partially forgotten - a revitalization has been carried out that goes far beyond the scale of a single building. The Shiroiya Hotel is not just a modern accommodation - it is an urban manifesto, a symbol of change and the beginning of a new phase in the life of the city. The Sou Fujimoto Architects studio, known for its experimental forms and context-sensitive architecture, is responsible for the project. The impetus behind the project was a desire to save the historic inn, which had been an important point on the map of Maebashi for more than 300 years. However, the venture quickly evolved into something more - an attempt to breathe life into the entire downtown area and restore its role as a common space.
Shiroiya Hotel in Japan
photo by Katsumasa Tanaka © Sou Fujimoto Architects
From concrete relic to urban living room
A key element of the project was the redevelopment of a four-story 1970s building now called Heritage Tower. Originally it was a typical hotel with a closed structure, with no contact with the outside world. The architects decided to take a radical step: they removed almost all the interior walls and ceilings, creating a huge, multi-level atrium. At its center was a common space - also accessible to outsiders. It's more than a lobby: it resembles a modern urban living room, where you can sit down, have a cup of coffee, meet with friends or just hang out.
Shiroiya Hotel in Japan - floor plan.
© Sou Fujimoto Architects
The concrete structure that once divided the building into airtight floors now creates a grid of spaces with diverse functions. It is complemented by plants, daylight, soft furnishings and a light installation of pipes that gently cut through the air below the ceiling. The space was designed not to impose one specific function. This place lives by the rhythm of guests and residents, their needs and moods. Every level, every nook and cranny offers something different - intimacy, openness, contact with nature or architecture.
The architects removed almost all interior walls and ceilings, creating a huge, multi-level atrium
Photo by Katsumasa Tanaka © Sou Fujimoto Architects
Green Tower - a building that grows out of the ground
In parallel with the revitalization of the main part, a new wing - the so-called Green Tower- was built. It was erected on the site of a former terrace over a tributary channel of the Tone River, and immediately catches the eye with its unusual form. Instead of a classical block, the architects designed a green hill - overgrown with grass, trees and shrubs - from which white, geometric objects resembling simplified houses emerge. Inscribed in a sloping structure, seemingly chaotic, they actually form a well-thought-out composition. Stairs, alleys and terraces have been routed between them - all with the intention of restoring the continuity of the pedestrian route that once ran through the area.
Shiroiya Hotel in Japan
Photo by Katsumasa Tanaka © Sou Fujimoto Architects
This part of the hotel looks like a piece of landscape: it resembles a natural hill from which simple residential forms "grow". This alludes to the concept of mebuku, or "sprouting" - the idea of organic development, in harmony with the rhythms of nature and the needs of the community. For Maebashi, this is particularly important - a city that has been losing residents for years is now trying to "bloom" again.
A view of a green hill overgrown with grass, trees and shrubs, from which white geometric objects resembling simplified houses emerge
Photo by Katsumasa Tanaka © Sou Fujimoto Architects
form that builds identity
The massing of the Shiroiya Hotel is a meeting of two worlds. On the one hand, we have the brutalist skeleton of the old building - exposed beams, raw concrete and an industrial aesthetic. On the other, the soft, green form of the new wing, which resembles landscape more than architecture. Between the two spaces, the experience ranges from urban hustle and bustle to the tranquility of hidden gardens.
The white, minimalist blocks in the Green Tower are like contemporary tree houses - symbolic, light, even poetic. Their simple form contrasts with the density of the greenery, while giving rhythm and direction to the whole. Blended into the slope, the entrance openings and glazing are almost invisible from street level - the architecture here becomes a background for nature, not the other way around.
Shiroiya Hotel in Japan - a longitudinal cross-section of the building
© Sou Fujimoto Architects
architecture that changes the city
Hitoshi Tanaka, founder of the JINS Eyewear brand and a resident of Maebashi, is behind the venture. His goal was not just to build a hotel - he wanted to create a place that would revitalize the local community and attract outsiders. From the very beginning, the project was open-ended: local artists, designers, artisans and residents were involved. The result? A building that not only serves its purpose, but becomes a stage - for events, meetings and even everyday conversations. With this development, Maebashi is reclaiming its urban fabric - not through large shopping malls, but through spaces that foster relationships.
Shiroiya Hotel in Japan
Photo by Katsumasa Tanaka © Sou Fujimoto Architects
new chapter
At a time when many cities are facing an identity crisis and depopulation of their centers, a project like Hotel Shiroiya shows that architecture can be a tool for real change. It doesn't have to be monumental or glitzy. It just needs to be attentive - to place, people, history and the future. Something has indeed begun to sprout in Maebashi. And if architecture still has the power today to influence reality - it is this way.
Elaborated: Anastazja Dżupina
Illustrations provided courtesy of Sou Fujimoto Architects.
