Hotel Sofitel Tokyo

Hotel Sofitel Tokyo[1] (ホテルソフィテル東京) was a hotel high-rise building (106.07 m, 3 underground storeys) in Taito-ku, Tokyo (1-48, 2 Ikenohata, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan). It was established in 1994 as Hotel Cosima with 71 rooms on 26 cantilever floors. In 1999 it was purchased by Accor Group. After refurbishment (number of rooms increased to 83) it was reopened as 4-star hotel in September 2000, closed in December 2006 and was demolished between February 2007 and May 2008.

Hotel Sofitel was a late work of Japanese architect Kiyonori Kikutake (66 years old, when the building was conceived), best known for his pre-metabolist own house (Sky House[2]), and Edo-Tokyo Museum(1993). Hotel Sofitel building resembled some metabolist ideas (as Joint Core,[3] capsules, modularity, and - theoretically - possibility of replacement of its parts). The building shows a direct similarity to Kiyonori Kikutake's earlier theoretical project "Tree-shaped Community"[4] from 1968. However, this project consisted of a group of towers cross-shaped in plan, it shows also similarity to other metabolists projects (Nakagin Capsule Tower by Kisho Kurokawa, Shizuoka Press and Broadcasting Tower by Kenzo Tange).

It is said that the characteristic shape of the hotel building was inspired by shapes Japanese temples and pine trees.[5] Despite some metabolist-like features the object itself cannot be seen as representative of metabolist movement - as designed long after the slow breakup of the metabolists group in late 70. of XXc. The object referenced traditional Japanese architecture, what is characteristic for mature and late works of K.Kikutake (Edo-Tokyo Museum, Izumo Grand Shrine Administration Building, Toukouen Hotel).

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  Hotel Sofitel, Tokyo, 1994