The Imperial Hotel ( ????? , teikoku hoteru ) is a hotel in Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda ward, Tokyo. It was made in late 1880 at the request of Japanese aristocracy to serve more and more Western visitors to Japan. The hotel site is located just south of the court of the Imperial Palace, next to the previous location of the Palace moat. This modern hotel overlooks the Palace, the 16 hectares (16 hectares) Hibiya West Park, and the Yurakucho and Ginza neighborhoods.
Three main buildings have stood on the hotel's website, each manifested in the finest Western design of his era. Including attachments, there are at least 10 structures that have become part of the Imperial Hotel, including two designed by Frank Lloyd Wright:
- The original Imperial Hotel, designed by Yuzuru Watanabe (1890-1922)
- Metropole Hotel in Tsukiji, purchased as an attachment (1906-1910)
- First Imperial Hotel annex (1906-1919)
- A temporary attachment, designed by Wright when the original hotel pavilion was burned (1920-1923)
- The main building of the New Imperial Hotel, designed by Wright (1922-1967)
- 1954 Imperial Hotel annex (1954-1979)
- 1958 Imperial Hotel annex (1958-1979)
- The parking structure of Imperial Hotel (1969-present)
- The third main building (and now), which replaces Frank Lloyd Wright's main building (1970-present)
- The Imperial Tower, which replaced the 1954 and 1958 annexes (1983-present)
Video Imperial Hotel, Tokyo
First Imperial Hotel: 1890-1922
The original Imperial Hotel opened in November 1890 on the Northeast corner of what is now the property of the hotel. The hotel is facing the North, with sections of the Royal Palace (no longer there) across the street on the North and East side of the building.
The hotel is supported by key Japanese leaders, such as Foreign Minister Count Inoue Kaoru and Viscount Shibusawa Eiichi. Shibusawa and Okura Kihachiro appeal to form Tokyo Hotel Co. on November 28, 1887, to "build a large hotel in Tokyo and to do business renting rooms for foreign guests, and for parties and other events..". Initially there were 21 investors, with the largest (21.15%) were the Ministry of Household Empire. Preparation of the location of the hotel began in July 1888, and construction began in the fall of that year. On July 7, 1890 his name was changed to Imperial Hotel Ltd. This hotel opened in November 1890.
Plans for the hotel are part of an effort to centralize government offices in the Hibiya area. A group of German architects visited Japan and made some initial pictures. The starting image for the hotel was created by Heinrich MÃÆ'¤nz, in the neo-Renaissance German style. In 1886, a group of 20 Japanese were sent to Germany for training. Finally, Yuzuru Watanabe will be chosen to design 60 hotel rooms, also known as "Watanabe House". Watanabe uses the original layout by MÃÆ'¤nz, but due to soil conditions, it transforms the four-story stone structure into a wooden frame and a three-level brick structure, with the exterior painted to look like a stone. He also added rooms under the roof to accommodate more guests. Western (French) food has become the official banquet ban of the Imperial Palace because the Meiji Emperor held a lunch for the nephew of the Italian king on September 8, 1873, and the Imperial Hotel follows that tradition.
The first Diet Building in Japan, just completed on November 24, 1890 in time for the first Diet session, was burned on January 20, 1891. After a week of preparation, House of Peers reunited in the Imperial Hotel ballroom, where they will meet until 1 March.
Business is slow at first, and hotels lose money. Even after the US annexed the Philippines in 1902 After the Spanish-American and Filipino-American War, bringing more travelers through Japan, the hotel was only an average of 40 guests and 50 restaurant patrons. Only after the start of the Russian-Japanese War in 1904, the hotel was regularly filled. In 1906, a 42-room pavilion was built and Hotel Metropole in Tsukiji was purchased to increase capacity, allowing the hotel to serve up to 150 guests and seats up to 200 for dinner and banquets. The Metropole was demolished in 1910, when planning began for a new building to be completed in 1916.
The Imperial Hotel Watanabe was destroyed by fire on April 16, 1922, while Edward, Prince of Wales visited Japan. Fires occur during the day, with full staff in hand and most guests out at the Imperial Garden party. No lives were lost, but business at the hotel stopped until the new Southern wing of the hotel could be opened.
Maps Imperial Hotel, Tokyo
Second spell of Second Imperial Hotel: 1923-1968
The second Imperial Hotel was built from 1919-1923, and officially opened on September 1, 1923. The hotel is Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous building in Japan. It is roughly designed in its own logo form, with the living room wing forming the letter "H", while the public spaces are in the smaller but higher middle wing shaped like the "I" that cuts in the middle of "H".
Preliminaries
In 1911, Frank Lloyd Wright was recommended to Aisaku Hayashi of Imperial Hotel by Frederick W. Gookin, a fellow Japanese art collector. In 1912, Wright was in direct contact with Hayashi, but the death of Emperor Meiji delayed the discussion. As the discussion continued, Wright went to Japan, leaving the United States on January 11, 1913. During his stay, Wright inspected the site and made some initial plans. He returned to the United States in May convinced that he would get a commission. In early 1916, Hayashi, his wife, and Japanese architect Tori Yoshitake traveled to the United States, arriving at Taliesin in February. In addition to discussing the details of the plan before sending it to the Hotel Board of Directors for final approval, the trip seems to be made for Hayashi to see some of Wright's work in person, and to see how American hotels are run. Hayashi and his friends returned to Japan in mid-April, and the council had approved the plan in time for Wright to sail to Japan on December 28, 1916.
The purpose of the visit of 1917 (Wright arrived on 9 January and departed on 21 April) was to prepare the construction - check the site more thoroughly, make arrangements for materials, and hire a draftsman to create working drawings. Wright returns to Taliesin in mid-May. The initial work drawing was all done at Taliesin, and Wright would not return to Japan until 17 November 1918 to oversee the commencement of construction.
Construction
At the end of 1919, when work had just begun in a new hotel, the Imperial Hotel 1906 pavilion was burned to the ground. Working at the new hotel was suspended while Wright designed a temporary attachment, which opened 5 months later.
On April 26, 1922, the worst earthquake (6.8) in decades hit Tokyo. While many buildings in the area were destroyed and the remains of the first Imperial Hotel were overthrown, the hotel itself - whilst whipped - stood absolutely undamaged. Wright was working on the top floor of the building at the time, and feared the worst when he heard of a major accident, but this turned out to be only five chimneys from the first Imperial Hotel, which had been burned only 10 days earlier.
The new North Wing hotel and part of the center were partly completed on 2 July 1922, in time to host the Annapolis class reunion of 1881. At this point, the forecast is that it will only take about 6 weeks to complete the hotel, and because of the Southern Wing is a mirror image of the North, Wright decides that he can leave the settlement to be supervised by Arato Endo. Wright left Japan on July 22, 1922, never to return. The hotel took 11 months to complete, and officially opened in June 1923.
The Frank Lloyd Wright annex (one of six designs of Wright for real built Japan) was destroyed in the Great Kant? earthquake on September 1, 1923, although at the time it was no longer in use.
Architecture
The Frank Lloyd Wright version is designed in the Mayan Awakening Architecture Style. It combines high structures, such as pyramids, and also loosely copying Maya motifs in its decorations. The main building materials are poured concrete, concrete blocks, and carved oya stone. The visual effects of the hotel are stunning and dramatic, though not unique; in recent years, architectural historians have noted the similarity that is characterized by Cafe Australia in Melbourne, Australia (1916), designed by Prairie School architects Marion Mahony and Walter Burley Griffin.
The architecture greatly influences the style of Hotel Kousih, built by the apprentice Wright, Arata Endo.
1923 Great Tokyo Earthquake
The structure is famous survived Kant the Great? earthquake on September 1, 1923 (7.9 on the magnitude scale of Moment (M w )). A telegram from Baron Kihachiro Okura reported the following:
"The hotel stands undamaged as a monument of your genius consisting of hundreds of homeless people provided by a perfectly guarded service greeting [.] Congratulations [.]"
Wright telegramed to reporters, helping to perpetuate the legend that the hotel was not affected by the earthquake. In fact, the building has been damaged; The middle of the floor slumped, several floors protruding, four pieces of rock falling to the ground, fans falling from the balcony, and the electric span in the kitchen was overthrown, lighting the kitchen fire fast enough. It is also not the only building to survive, or the least damaged. At the scale of the insurance company's damage (1-5), it is the second best category (minor damage). According to the Tokyo Building Inspection Department, about 19% of brick buildings and 20% of steel and reinforced concrete buildings in the city are categorized in the best category (no damage) and thus perform better than Imperial.
The main failure of the building is its foundation. Wright had intended the hotel to float in the alluvial mud sites "as warships float on water", even during an earthquake. This is achieved by making it superficial, with a broad foundation. However, this proves inadequate support and does not prevent buildings from sinking into mud in such a way that it must be destroyed decades later. Furthermore, alluvial mud, as it is on the hotel site, amplifies seismic waves.
However, the hotel has several design features that minimize the potential for earthquake damage:
- The seismic separation joints, located about 20 m (66 ft) along the building;
- Tapered walls, thicker downstairs, increase their strength;
- Cantilever floor and balcony provide extra support for the floor;
- Piped and suspended cabling, instead of being wrapped in concrete, as well as smooth curves, makes them more resistant to fractures;
- Copper roof eliminates the risk of falling debris made by traditional tile roofs;
- The reflecting pool provides a water source for firefighters, saving buildings from post-earthquake storms.
After the next earthquake and fire, the Hotel provides for the American, British, French and Italian embassies, as well as the Chinese and Swedish Ministers. The Grill Room, as well as some exterior spaces behind the hotel, are allocated for storage of relief supplies. The front entrance to the new Southern wing is provided for use by public utilities, and the press is given entrance hall hall and promenade to the banquet hall. Until electricity and water are restored, cooking is done outside, first at a campfire, then on a charcoal grill. During the first four days after the quake, the hotel fed all free entrants, up to 2,500 people twice a day. After that, the hotel is only charged until the emergency is over. Electricity was restored to the hotel on September 4, and water on September 5th. Relief supplies from other countries began arriving in Tokyo, and to the hotel, on September 3 with the arrival of the destructive USS Stewart .
In 1930, Hotel K? Shien was built under Arata Endo's plan, a disciple of Wright. The design is inspired by the Imperial Hotel.
World War II
In 1936, Japan was preparing for the 1940 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and there were serious discussions to replace the Imperial Wright Hotel with a building that fitted the time needed. With only 280 rooms, the hotel is no longer financially feasible. World War II intervened to cancel the Olympics and save the hotel from a destructive ball.
During World War II, the southern wing of the hotel was destroyed by an incendiary bomb on May 25, 1945, and the Peacock room was destroyed. The hotel asked Wright to go back and design the repairs to the hotel, but Wright refused. The hotel was ruled for a period by the Liberation Army and managed by the US Government, under the supervision of Lieutenant J.Malcolm Morris 1945 to 1952, and some damage was corrected during this time.
Postwar
As part of the land reform instituted by occupation forces under General Douglas MacArthur, Okura Kishichiro and all his family must surrender their shares at the Imperial Hotel. The same applies to the Imperial Household Agent, ending the imperial family's financial involvement at the hotel.
The hotel was restored to its owner on 1 April 1952, and full repairs could be made. Since the guest wing of the Wright building is only three stories high, there is actually very little living room. After war damage was repaired, a new addition was built just behind the north wing of the Wright building, opened on 1 December 1954 and added 200 guest rooms to the hotel. Construction for the second pavilion of 450 guest rooms began on November 17, 1956, with the opening of the pavilion in June 1958.
Demolition
The hotel eventually fell into decay as time went on. In a controversial decision, it was decided in 1967 to destroy the old hotel and replace it with high-rise buildings. The reasons given for dismantling included damage to parts of the banquet and the southern wing during World War II, the imbalance of completion of buildings on the floating platform (some parts of the building had drowned as much as 1,100 mm (43 inches)), and damage to decorative stone causing falling pieces. The second Imperial hotel closed on 15 November 1967, and the demolition began shortly after.
Portion merge
While most of Wright's buildings were destroyed, the iconic central lobby wing and reflecting pools were dismantled and rebuilt at The Meiji-mura Museum, a collection of buildings (mostly from the Meiji Era) in Inuyama, near Nagoya, where they open to the public.
Because the structure of the building is brick and concrete and can not be dismantled, as much as possible oya stone, tiles, and other finishing materials are preserved. The demolition of the hotel was completed and the material was kept in Meiji-mura in March 1968. A site for reconstruction was chosen in February 1970, and the exterior reconstruction began in March, taking 6 years to complete. Interior reconstruction began in November 1983 after a 7-year hiatus, and was completed in October 1985, more than 17 years after the demolition.
Gallery
Third Imperial Hotel: 1968-present
The third main building (and currently) is a 17-story hotel tower with 772 guest rooms, built on the site of the Wright building and opened on March 10, 1970.
Context and construction
Despite talks to replace the Wright hotel since before the planned 1940 Olympics, the mention of the first serious plan for a new building was in 1963 when a minute board showed that Takahashi Teitaro had been sent to the United States to see the hotel and start planning. At a board meeting of 16 October 1966, plans to build a new hotel, which will be completed on time for the Expo '70 in Osaka, are unanimously approved. The ground was damaged for a new building on February 28, 1968, just after the demolition of the Frank Lloyd Wright building was completed. The parking garage is 10 floors just south of the annexes finished before the new hotel, in 1969.
A 31-storey 31-storey tower with 363 guest rooms on 12 floors, 14 office floors and four storey floors replaced the 1954 and 1958 annexes in 1983. The pavilions were demolished in 1979, construction on the tower began on December 25, 1979, and the tower opened on 13 March 1983.
Important event
Princess Sayako (the third and only daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan, now Sayako Kuroda), was married at the Hotel in 2005.
In reference to the three Edo-era houses of the Tokugawa clan, the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo Okura Hotel, and the Hotel New Otani Tokyo are often referred to as one of three large hotels ( ??? , gosanke ) from Tokyo.
Note
References
- Imperial Hotel (1990). The Imperial: The First 100 Years . ADEX Ltd. Japan.
- Tiltman, Hessell (March 1970). The Imperial Hotel Story . The Imperial Hotel, Japan.
External links
- Imperial Hotel Tokyo (In English)
- Old Tokyo - Imperial Hotel (Wright)
- Oya stone legacy used in Imperial Hotel
- Digital Archeology: Excavating Hotel Imperial Frank Lloyd Wright, Part I on YouTube
- Digital Archeology: Excavating the Imperial Hotel Frank Lloyd Wright, Part II on YouTube
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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