Hotel Puerta América - 10th floor

The tenth floor was designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, whose recent European works significantly lag in quality. In the interior design of the Puerta América hotel, Isozaki does not attempt to pander to Europeans but showcases a geometrizing, clean, and clear Eastern way of thinking. The author was also inspired by the words of Junichiro Tanizaki, the author of the essay In Praise of Shadows from 1935, who described the feelings arising from “darkening walls sinking into shadows that visibly remove excess decor from the interior.” Isozaki expressed here the role of light in Japanese architecture, where the play of shadows and discreet diffused light is characteristic of the rooms. The bathroom also reflects Japanese traditions, as the rectangular wooden bathtub is combined with a shower cabin. The shoji, a screen used in traditional village houses in the Far East, is also worth noting.