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Tei Shuwa's Favorite Hotels

Tei Shuwa

Architect/Designer

Born in 1968 in Yokohama, Tei Shuwa began his career in architecture at the Musashino Art University. Afterwards, he and two colleagues established Intentionallies, a first-class design firm. Intentionallies focuses on product design, environmental design, interiors and architecture. In 2002, he helped to establish REALFLEET. He concurrently serves as a Creative Director for Intentionallies/ REALFLEET.

Tei Shuwa created 5 different designs for “atehaca” household appliances. He designed the Dynabook CX1 series for TOSHIBA and created a limited amount of 500 REALFLEET models which sold out within 3 weeks. For the original brand of REALFLEET: amadana, he rethought a humidifier, personal shredder, calculator, and stereo and released them to market. On July 2005, the first Japanese world standard brand, “Craft Design Technology,” was released.

His work with hotels began in 2003 in Meguro. Shuwa took a 35 year-old superannuated hotel and transformed it into Hotel Claska, Japan’s first design hotel. As Hotel Claska became known domestically and internationally, it became the city’s business model.

Intentionallies’ most recent hotel-related project is still pending in Bali, Indonesia, south of Negara. As a resort town, Intentionallies put together ‘echord,’ a notice to accompany the main concept of the resort.

Not only is Intentionallies’ work acknowledged in Japan, but it is also known internationally, throughout countries such as Taiwan, Hawaii, Korea, and China.

The Sukhothai Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand

This hotel triggered my interest in the design of hotels in Asia. Although I have stayed quite a few times since 1997, I often feel like coming back. It is just marvelous in the sense that the essence of beauty from Thai culture makes the whole landscape even more sophisticated.

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Heritance Kandalama

Dambulla, Interior, Sri Lanka

To get some ideas for designing CLASKA, this hotel, designed by Geoffrey Bawa, was where I wanted to go the most. I could never forget my first encounter; it was after sleeping in a car on the driveway. When I woke up, I felt as if I arrived in different planet! By the way, I have heard that the first Japanese visitor to the hotel was Jiro Endo, who had become the co-founder of Intentionallies…chemistry!?

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Mandarin Oriental Prague

Prague, Czech Republic

I suddenly felt like staying in this hotel when I saw a photo displayed in Strahovský klášter in Prague. The culture of stone was something different from the Japanese. I still remember that, with the jet lag, I felt as if I was comfortably having a mysterious daydream while walking in the maze-like landscapes of the hotel.

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Berns Hotel

Stockholm, Sweden

Although several people pointed out CLASKA's Scandinavian design elements, I didn't travel to Stockholm until 2008, when I stayed here. The ballroom’s design represents the history amazingly. I could never reach that level of creativity, and the hotel’s pleasant atmosphere warmed up my heart when I came back from the extreme cold outside.

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TabletStars

Tei Shuwa's Favorite Hotels

Tei Shuwa

The Sukhothai Bangkok

Heritance Kandalama

Mandarin Oriental Prague

Berns Hotel

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