Hakata Green Hotel

The Hakata Green Hotel No.1 is located in Fukuoka, the most densely populated city on the island of Kyūshū in Japan. On account of its position, the city is a base for cultural and economic exchanges between Japan and the rest of Asia, and is therefore visited for both business and tourism. Curiously, the city is also famous for being the birthplace of numerous Japanese singers. The Hakata Green Hotel is one of the many hotels that welcome visitors to the city, but it is the only one that boasts a lighting system designed by Hiroyasu Shoji, head of the LightDesign studio and self-styled “connoisseur of light”. The project focuses on the reception area, the all-important zone where guests are welcomed to the hotel and form their very first impressions that often remain with them throughout their stay. The lighting therefore, seeks to enhance the hotel's qualities of professional expertise, service and customer care. For this area, Sosji has chosen to create an atmosphere with soft, homogeneous lighting that interacts with the different textures of the interior design that include a reception counter with a reflective vertical surface that changes constantly and dark grey surrounding walls with a distinctive natural finish. The overall effect is a series of pleasant contrasts and alternating chiaroscuro effects thanks to the interplay of matt and gloss surfaces. The light streams down from a dark channel that cuts a sharp line across the white ceiling and hides the recessed Laser Blade luminaires inside it.