Cover Clad in Bisazza tiles, the 40th-floor lobby at the Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo offers a splendid welcome
Clad in Bisazza tiles, the 40th-floor lobby at the Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo offers a splendid welcome
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ACPV Architects’ Patricia Viel shares how Italian elegance and Japanese craftsmanship come together to redefine luxury at Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo
To reach Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo, visitors navigate the bustling streets outside Tokyo Station before entering the ground floor’s elevator foyer. Framed drawings from the Bvlgari archives showcase iconic pieces, including the legendary Bvlgari Mount Fuji brooch.
The journey continues upwards to the 40th floor of the Tokyo Midtown Yaesu skyscraper, where the foyer features custom Bisazza mosaics inspired by a Japanese fabric pattern and Rome’s Baths of Caracalla. Passing through double doors, guests step into a sunlit Bvlgari world, crafted with the artistry of ACPV Architects, led by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel.
Opened in 2023, this is one of the latest additions to the Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts portfolio designed by the Italian architecture and design studio. The interiors embody the precision and bespoke craftsmanship synonymous with Bvlgari jewels.
For co-founders Citterio and Viel, each project reflects this meticulous attention to detail. The studio, established in 2000, has designed landmark projects like Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St. Moritz, 3 Orchard-By-The-Park in Singapore, and The Sky Taipei. Citterio’s background in furniture design for brands like Flexform and B&B Italia enhances the studio’s mastery of materiality and detail.
Read also: The architect behind the latest Aman Resorts talks about emotions and space
Above Italian architect Patricia Viel co-founded ACPV Architects with the legendary Antonio Citterio. (Photo: Gianluca Di Ioia)
Italian architect Patricia Viel co-founded ACPV Architects with the legendary Antonio Citterio. (Photo: Gianluca Di Ioia)
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How does Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo reflect the Bvlgari brand?
What we usually do with Bvlgari is to infuse spaces with the Italian sensibility and gioia di vivere (joy of life), and intertwine it with a local sensitivity. For Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo, the key was creating a hybrid solution that merges Italian and Japanese cultural references.
Tokyo is represented in a dynamic between more masculine aesthetic manifestations of Japanese culture, and a feminine sphere that includes elements such as the art of ikebana, the period of cherry blossoms, the precious and impalpable fabrics, and calligraphy.
Above The exterior of Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo
Above The 40th lobby display niche
The exterior of Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo
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The Bvlgari Dolci boutique
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What were some of the inspirations behind the designs of the public spaces?
The entire hotel is characterised by a meticulous attention to detail. For instance, in the hotel lobby, there is a sequence of portals that recall the portals of Bvlgari’s boutique in Via Condotti, Rome, based on a drawing from the 1920s. The design of these flame-shaped doorways are also very similar to the decorative katomado (firelight window) of Japanese shrines and castles. The material use also represents a good balance between Bvlgari and Japanese culture.
The meticulously appointed living area of the Bvlgari Suite
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How is Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo similar to or different from other Bvlgari hotels?
All Bvlgari hotels reinterpret luxury by focusing on quality, from the material choices to the bespoke furniture. The aesthetic identity of the Bvlgari brand translates into designs that create unique experiences rather than ostentatious displays. The Tokyo property continues this tradition, while simultaneously embracing local cultural elements.
Above Traditional Japanese influences are apparent in this corner of the suite, which features a tokonoma-inspired bay window
Above Close-up of the well-appointed vanity inside the Bvlgari Suite
Traditional Japanese influences are apparent in this corner of the suite, which features a tokonoma-inspired bay window
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Do you have any observations on the evolution of the habits and demands of luxury travellers?
It is important to look at trends and understand whom we are designing for. This is essential to how we approach our work, which aims to respond to people’s needs. In terms of the profile of luxury travellers, tourism for leisure has become a widespread activity; it cannot be considered a marginal aspect of our lives anymore. In this sense, the demand and expectations for services, and the quality of travel and destinations, has become very complex.
The Bvlgari Spa combines Italian and Japanese opulent bathing cultures
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How do luxury travellers inform the design of luxury projects such as Bvlgari hotels?
The demand of our target consumer is related to the exclusivity of places, to privacy, to the secluded environments of travel. It’s related to customisation, to offering services that are tailored to each individual. Especially among high-end travellers, the demand for authenticity and learning about new things [are a priority]. The ability, with our projects, to convey a sense of the given place and the history, culture and craftsmanship is thus fundamental.
We also introduce in the hospitality product a sensibility for the residential [typology]. This is to say that you don’t have a feeling of using a product, but you have the impression of living a moment of true intimacy in your “home away from home”.
The botanical-themed Bvlgari Bar
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Credits
Photography: Francesco Luciani
