Construction HighlightsANA InterContinental Beppu Resort & Spa,
which plays an important role in showing BEPPU to the world
Beppu is a city of hot springs that is largest in Japan both in the number of hot springs and in the volume of hot spring water flow, and also has largest in the world in the number of spring sources. The ANA InterContinental Beppu Resort & Spa, developed with the theme of being a hot spring and a resort, opened in August 2019 in the vicinity of the Myoban hot spring, one of the Beppu Hatto, eight hot springs zones in the town.
Our Investment and Development Division also participated in the project. This is the first five-star luxury hotel in Oita Prefecture that Shimizu has designed and built.
Luxurious space offering a panoramic view of the hot spring town
This hotel is situated in a good location on a hill bordered by the city of Beppu, the mountains, and the ocean. Guests can enjoy the spectacular views from various locations inside the hotel to their heart’s content. The steam rising from the hot springs throughout the city of Beppu provides scenery that can only be viewed from here. Depending on the weather, you can also look down on low clouds gathering, and experience the sense of being in paradise above the clouds.
The hotel was designed with an awareness of creating a fusion of a global resort design and the feel of a Beppu hot spring to welcome elite travelers from around the world to the hot springs area that Japan is known for.
Natural materials such as wood, stone, and bamboo were used lavishly, from the entrance to the guest rooms.
Employing a variety of waterscapes to showcase the appeal of the BEPPU brand
We developed the feel of a resort as a hotel in a hot springs area through various waterscapes such as large and small basins and waterfalls, and an infinity pool, in addition to equipping the hotel with facilities that enable guests to fully enjoy the hot springs culture in the outdoor bath, the indoor public bath, hot springs on the guestroom’s balconies, and family baths which elaborate the theme.
We equipped with the hotel with “glocal” functions that integrate the international and local characteristics while also creating truly unique vistas that can only be experienced here and showcase the BEPPU brand to the world.
Massive Beppu stone boulders left to weather for over 30 years to soften the colors were used in the outdoor bath, a centerpiece of the resort.
Tadahiro Toshida, the manager in charge of construction, commented, “We considered the masonry methods and other aspects repeatedly in advance, including the workers, the designer, and architect in the discussions.
Everyone was present during the actual construction work and this enabled us to concentrate on the atmosphere, which could not be portrayed in the drawings, and create an authentic outdoor bath.”
We created a truly rustic atmosphere of authenticity that made it seem as though the stones had been there for many years by daring to leave the moss and vegetation that grew on the stones naturally, and covered the bath with a cluster of umbrellas made of cedar louvers to create a space that evoke both nostalgia and newness.
A restful space that stimulates the five senses
We equipped all guest rooms with deep balconies that provide guests with a tactile sense of the abundance of nature surrounding them. We used a lattice sliding door made of Japanese cypress solid wood that is smooth to the touch and fills the guest room with its fragrance to create a healing effect and create a space that stimulates the five senses of guests. We sought the limits of thinness in the free curves of the lattices in the design, which was proposed by a foreign designer, thereby creating a design that better emphasizes the delicacy of traditional Japanese latticework.
Beppu products can be seen everywhere
We actively sought to use local construction materials such as Hita cedar produced in the prefecture and Beppu stone quarried in Beppu to promote local production and local consumption.
Takayuki Ishitani of the Design Division, who has a strong preference for using local materials, commented, “As a designer, I took care to use local materials to show the natural aspect. For example, I used solid wood with color variations in the eaves of the entrance, which are constructed of Hita cedar produced in Oita Prefecture, to show guests a purer state.”
We contributed to the local economy through lavish use of traditional local crafts and artwork such as bamboo work, a regional specialty, in everything from interior finishes, to furniture and decor. You can feel Beppu's-touch in various places and scenes in the hotel.
In this project with its focus on perfection in details everywhere, we utilized the advantage of both design and build to the maximum extent by creating a mock-up of a guest room early in the process, and succeeded in completing a luxury hotel that is representative of Beppu as a hot spring area.
Ishitani added, “I am proud that we were able to help Beppu in Japan make the leap to BEPPU of global renown.”
The information posted here is the current information on December 16, 2019.
Please be aware that this information may have changed by the time you view it.
