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Old World Charm and New Luxury in Kyoto
Takenaka Corporation delivers a new layer ofhistory to Japan’s cultural capital
In October 2019, Park Hyatt Kyoto opened its doors, bringing together one of the world’s
leading hotel brands with one of the city’s most respected traditional kaiseki eateries,
Kyoyamato. Tasked with bringing these elements into an elevated unity within the storied
context of greater Kyoto was Takenaka Corporation, a leading design and construction
company in Japan.
Surrounded by historical sites such as Kiyomizu-dera Temple and the Yasaka Pagoda, theall-new Park Hyatt Kyoto required the delicate preservation and restoration of Kyoyamato’s
traditional wooden buildings as well as the installation of Japanese gardens. Taken
together with the hotel’s refined interiors—designed by tonychi & associates and theTakenaka interior design team —the property affords guests a one-of-a-kind experience ofKyoto.
We spoke with Takenaka Corporation division head of investment and development Aki
Tachibana and senior manager of the architectural design department Tetsuo Harada
about the challenges faced and overcome to seamlessly blend Kyoto’s distinctive localculture with an international luxury brand.

Left: Aki Tachibana
Division HeadInvestment & Development
Department
Right: Tetsuo Harada
Architect
General manager
Design Department
Head Officethe world.
In addition, our company was entrusted with thisproject because the family predecessor of Kyoyamato, Mr. and Mrs. Sukeo Sakaguchi, who unfortunately
passed away before the opening of the hotel, hadbeen close acquaintances of our corporation’s
honorary chairman, Toichi Takenaka.
It was thanks to this relationship that Takenaka
Corporation was entrusted with the project. And
because of our knowledge of both companies, wefelt confident that we could bring them together in away that mutually respects their unique histories,cultures and values.

Guest rooms feature sweeping views out over Kyoto’s historic cityscape.

Historical and cultural preservation
for a new era
Aki Tachibana: Even amid Japan’s efforts to promote
tourism nationwide, the history and culture of Kyoto
continue to draw global attention, and it was this thatdrew the interest of Hyatt Hotels Corporation to bringits top-tier brand, the Park Hyatt, to the city.
At the same time, the site’s landlord and operator ofthe authentic Japanese restaurant
Kyoyamato had a strong desire to preserve its
historic buildings and gardens to the greatest extent
possible.
Takenaka Corporation, Kyoyamato and Hyatt Hotels
Corporation enjoy a long history together.
Our relationship with Hyatt Hotels Corporation dates
back to the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa
project we worked on 30 years ago in Hawaii, and wehave maintained close ties with Hyatt and its owner,
the Pritzker family, ever since.
For this project, Hyatt’s executive chairman ThomasJ. Pritzker sent 31 rocks—said to be approximately
300 million years old—from his home in Aspen,
Colorado as a show of our long friendship, and we’veplaced the rocks in the garden next to the hotel’s
entrance to be appreciated by guests from aroundAs the hotel owner, Takenaka Corporation selected
Hyatt as the operator and asked Kyoyamato tocontinue operating its authentic Japanese restaurant.
From the beginning, the plan was not to have therestaurant inside the hotel but to achieve an elegant
fusion of cultures between the two companies inwhich the hotel and restaurant coexist.
Many companies had expressed interest in the site,which is ideally situated for a hotel, but we were theonly ones to propose that Kyoyamato and Hyattcoexist while retaining independence—an idea bornfrom our ties to both companies, which have been
fostered over the years.
Another key element of our proposal was thedecision to limit the number of rooms to 70 eventhough 150 to 200 rooms is a more suitable range fora profitable luxury hotel. But increasing the numberof rooms would have disrupted the harmony of thegardens, buildings and surrounding scenery that areimportant for imbuing the hotel with a sense of
Kyoto’s traditions.
We felt that we had a responsibility to the history andculture of Kyoto and Kyoyamato, so we chose torespect both tangible and intangible aspects—whatKyoyamato and the city have passed down overgenerations—by bringing in a world-class luxury
brand that would allow for profitability at the sametime.

Overcoming difficulties to preserve
the elegance of Kyoto
Tetsuo Harada: The Higashiyama area that is home
to Kyoyamato and Park Hyatt Kyoto is a special
place with sweeping views of Kyoto and a history

The Park Hyatt
Kyoto featuresrefined interiors
designed inpartnership withtonychi &associates and theTakenaka interior
design team.

dating back to the Heian era.
I can still clearly remember the deep sense of history
that I felt when I first visited.
The challenge for us then was to create a property
that would exist in harmony with historic Kyoto while
also evolving the city’s appeal into the future.
The interior design was a joint effort between tonychi& associates and Takenaka Corporation whilerenowned landscape architect Yasuo Kitayama wasresponsible for the gardens.
The three teams went through a long series of
discussions covering every detail, yet a shared visionof wanting to give the property contemporary andtimeless appeal was a constant throughout.
In the same way that Kyoto has been formed andrefined over many centuries, so has the Park Hyattbrand been refined to represent a culture of its own.
At the Park Hyatt Kyoto, the historic gardens andcontemporary architecture link these two cultures,and form a new chapter in Kyoto. It’s our hope that
this relationship will only grow deeper as time
passes, allowing guests to experience the changing
surroundings and scenery as time passes and theseasons change.

In response, and in order to maintain the area’s
iconic scenery, we came up with a plan to placeabout 60% of the hotel’s floor area underground.
Our design and construction teams worked together
to consider the best approach from the beginning,allowing us to come up with various proposals topreserve and use existing historic buildings andgardens.
The tea pavilion structure, for example, is made up of
three separate tea ceremony rooms that we moved
here without disassembly, and we raised the original
Kyoyamato restaurant structure, in order to locate
the kitchen and service paths underground. Steps
such as these, have allowed us to improve
earthquake resistance and overall functionality while
also highlighting the property’s traditional beauty,
resulting in the creation of a new experience that
can’t be found anywhere else.

Tachibana: When building in Kyoto, the emphasis ison preserving the look of the city with regulations
covering everything from building heights to design
elements that blend with the traditional townscape.
As a result, the experience and technical skills of ourdesign and construction teams were indispensable
to the success of the project.
Harada: Following the many regulations is of course
required, but it’s even more important to understandthe values of the local community.

A vie w of t he Prit zk e r
G a rd e n, a t ra d it iona l
J a p a ne se ga rd e n in t hePa rk Hya t t K yot o’s inne rc ourt ya rd .

As architects involved in community planning, I
believe it’s our role to understand culture and tocreate buildings that contribute to community values.
With heavy tourist traffic nearby and a heightvariation of approximately 30 meters within the site,these conditions made construction difficult.

Views of Kyoto’s historic cityscape were meticulously preserved fromthe 300-year-old teahouse.

the world.
In addition, our company was entrusted with thisproject because the family predecessor of Kyoyamato, Mr. and Mrs. Sukeo Sakaguchi, who unfortunately
passed away before the opening of the hotel, hadbeen close acquaintances of our corporation’s
honorary chairman, Toichi Takenaka.
It was thanks to this relationship that TakenakaCorporation was entrusted with the project. And
because of our knowledge of both companies, wefelt confident that we could bring them together in away that mutually respects their unique histories,cultures and values.

Guest rooms feature sweeping views out over Kyoto’s historic cityscape.

Historical and cultural preservation
for a new era
Aki Tachibana: Even amid Japan’s efforts to promote
tourism nationwide, the history and culture of Kyoto
continue to draw global attention, and it was this thatdrew the interest of Hyatt Hotels Corporation to bringits top-tier brand, the Park Hyatt, to the city.
At the same time, the site’s landlord and operator of
the authentic Japanese restaurant
Kyoyamato had a strong desire to preserve its
historic buildings and gardens to the greatest extent
possible.
Takenaka Corporation, Kyoyamato and Hyatt Hotels
Corporation enjoy a long history together.
Our relationship with Hyatt Hotels Corporation dates
back to the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa
project we worked on 30 years ago in Hawaii, and wehave maintained close ties with Hyatt and its owner,
the Pritzker family, ever since.
For this project, Hyatt’s executive chairman ThomasJ. Pritzker sent 31 rocks—said to be approximately
300 million years old—from his home in Aspen,
Colorado as a show of our long friendship, and we’veplaced the rocks in the garden next to the hotel’s
entrance to be appreciated by guests from aroundAs the hotel owner, Takenaka Corporation selected
Hyatt as the operator and asked Kyoyamato tocontinue operating its authentic Japanese restaurant.
From the beginning, the plan was not to have therestaurant inside the hotel but to achieve an elegant
fusion of cultures between the two companies inwhich the hotel and restaurant coexist.
Many companies had expressed interest in the site,which is ideally situated for a hotel, but we were theonly ones to propose that Kyoyamato and Hyattcoexist while retaining independence—an idea bornfrom our ties to both companies, which have been
fostered over the years.
Another key element of our proposal was thedecision to limit the number of rooms to 70 eventhough 150 to 200 rooms is a more suitable range fora profitable luxury hotel. But increasing the numberof rooms would have disrupted the harmony of thegardens, buildings and surrounding scenery that areimportant for imbuing the hotel with a sense of
Kyoto’s traditions.
We felt that we had a responsibility to the history andculture of Kyoto and Kyoyamato, so we chose torespect both tangible and intangible aspects—what
Kyoyamato and the city have passed down overgenerations—by bringing in a world-class luxury
brand that would allow for profitability at the sametime.

Overcoming difficulties to preserve
the elegance of Kyoto
Tetsuo Harada: The Higashiyama area that is hometo Kyoyamato and Park Hyatt Kyoto is a specialplace with sweeping views of Kyoto and a history

The Park Hyatt
Kyoto featuresrefined interiors
designed inpartnership withtonychi &associates and theTakenaka interior
design team.

dating back to the Heian era.
I can still clearly remember the deep sense of history
that I felt when I first visited.
The challenge for us then was to create a property
that would exist in harmony with historic Kyoto while
also evolving the city’s appeal into the future.
The interior design was a joint effort between tonychi& associates and Takenaka Corporation whilerenowned landscape architect Yasuo Kitayama wasresponsible for the gardens.
The three teams went through a long series of
discussions covering every detail, yet a shared visionof wanting to give the property contemporary andtimeless appeal was a constant throughout.
In the same way that Kyoto has been formed andrefined over many centuries, so has the Park Hyattbrand been refined to represent a culture of its own.
At the Park Hyatt Kyoto, the historic gardens andcontemporary architecture link these two cultures,and form a new chapter in Kyoto. It’s our hope that
this relationship will only grow deeper as timepasses, allowing guests to experience the changing
surroundings and scenery as time passes and theseasons change.

In response, and in order to maintain the area’s
iconic scenery, we came up with a plan to placeabout 60% of the hotel’s floor area underground.
Our design and construction teams worked together
to consider the best approach from the beginning,allowing us to come up with various proposals topreserve and use existing historic buildings andgardens.
The tea pavilion structure, for example, is made up of
three separate tea ceremony rooms that we moved
here without disassembly, and we raised the original
Kyoyamato restaurant structure, in order to locate
the kitchen and service paths underground. Steps
such as these, have allowed us to improve
earthquake resistance and overall functionality while
also highlighting the property’s traditional beauty,
resulting in the creation of a new experience that
can’t be found anywhere else.

Tachibana: When building in Kyoto, the emphasis ison preserving the look of the city with regulations
covering everything from building heights to design
elements that blend with the traditional townscape.
As a result, the experience and technical skills of ourdesign and construction teams were indispensable
to the success of the project.
Harada: Following the many regulations is of course
required, but it’s even more important to understandthe values of the local community.

A vie w of t he Prit zk e r
G a rd e n, a t ra d it iona l
J a p a ne se ga rd e n in t hePa rk Hya t t K yot o’s inne rc ourt ya rd .

As architects involved in community planning, I
believe it’s our role to understand culture and tocreate buildings that contribute to community values.
With heavy tourist traffic nearby and a heightvariation of approximately 30 meters within the site,these conditions made construction difficult.

Views of Kyoto’s historic cityscape were meticulously preserved fromthe 300-year-old teahouse.

A stunning view of
the traditional
Japanese garden
that harmonizes
the old Kyoyamato
structures with thenew Park Hyatt
Kyoto.

Creating new value for historicallysignificant buildings
Harada: Historic buildings serve an important role in
a community’s identity. With growing competition
between cities and regions around the world,preserving these buildings through adaptive re-use
projects, such as this, not only serves to preserve a
region’s distinct culture and spirit but can also serve
to create new value. Understanding this, restrictions
surrounding the preservation and use of historicbuildings are being eased.

As Japan aspires to become a tourism-oriented
country, there’s likely be more and more development of luxury hotels.
I hope that our experience from this project will help
us to grow our presence going forward. And in termsof adaptive re-use projects of traditional architecture,
we are also currently working on a project to create
new value from a designated historical landmark
building in San Francisco.
So both within and outside Japan, we are working on
projects to create new value for historically importantbuildings and their communities.

In addition to designing hotels and commercial
facilities that make use of historic buildings, Takenaka is also engaged in a broad range of efforts topreserve communities’ legacies such as supporting
the registration of important cultural properties andparticipating in regional community development
efforts.
Tachibana: Currently, the Tourism industry aroundthe world has been greatly affected by the COVID-19
pandemic, but in the long run, the high-end market
will definitely return. Some say Japan lacks in thefive-star luxury hotels category even now, so thisproject to build Japan’s second Park Hyatt property
drew significant attention both domestically andinternationally.
And there has been a large number of inquiries fromoverseas developers now looking to develop luxury
hotels in Japan.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTIONOSAKA 1-13, 4-chome, Hommachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0053, Japan Tel: +81-6-6252-1201
TOKYO 1-1, 1-chome, Shinsuna, Koto-ku, Tokyo 136-0075, Japan Tel: +81-3-6810-5000

https://www.takenaka.co.jp