Aman Kyoto | Kerry Hill Architects

Aman Kyoto is a small luxury hotel which opened in late 2019. The site, which was introduced to Aman by Kerry Hill in 1995, is an 8-acre garden surrounded by forests established in the 1970s as a setting for a planned private textile museum. The project was then conceived to become a contemporary 26-suite ryokan, the first Aman in Japan. Utilizing the established platforms existing in the garden for the new pavilions, the new zinc roofed and timber clad buildings are deliberately simple and reductionist to allow nature and landscape to visually dominate. The materials and proportions of the pavilions are intended to feel Japanese, while not being traditional.

The interiors amplify this intention, while providing a highly crafted and reverential nod towards the design culture of Japan, without resorting to imitation. Guest suites are panelled in light Japanese Ash with tatami flooring, and the bathrooms are planned around a large hinoki timber bath. The public pavilions contrast this with darker timber interiors, panels of raku* wall tiles and open fire-places. Commissioned artworks and ceiling lanterns developed for the project complete the interiors.