Bookstore Hotel [Hakone Honbako]

Outline* The shown information is the one as of the awarded date and might has been changed.

Outline: Thanks to AI and ICT, the world around us is increasingly interest-based and we have less chance to be familiar with anything uninterested. Hakone Honbako is a place incorporating a book store into a hotel, aiming to provide a place to encounter diverse knowledge through books of uncategorized genres. 20 hours of the hotel stay is designed to be familiar with books and to be open to diversity.
Producer: Toru Iwasa, Jiyujin Inc. + Takeru Togashi, Ashikari Inc.
Director: Toru Iwasa, Jiyujin Inc.
Designer: Sanae Yoshizawa, Miho Kubota Jiyujin Inc. + Kenichiro Ishihara, Takuro Someya, Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Inc. + Kei Kaihoh, KEI KAIHOH Architects + Minoru Fuwa, Fuwa Inc. + Kayoko Hirao, Seiichiro Mifune, HiRAO INC.; クリエイティブディレクター岩佐十良。企画立案・総合監修から施設の運営までを株式会社自遊人が担当。
More information: http://hakonehonbako.com/
Already in service/use: 2018/8/1

Evaluation

By putting bookshelves in a hotel where visitors spend an extended amount of time, this project turns on the visitors' desire to explore and encounter new things during their stay. We found the creation of such value-added experience admirable. The user experience design not only increases people's sensitivity in this digital age, but also makes them want to slow down their pace so they can look at a variety of books.