Silver Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2025
Terrasta Hotel
by Uds Ltd.
- A' Design Award 2025 Silver Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Terrasta
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 23,598
- Verification code 8FAA72C7B2 · Verify this award
About Terrasta Hotel
Terrasta is a mixed-use hotel located in the heart of Miyakonojo City, designed to revitalize the area as a new community hub. The name blends terrace and stage symbolizing communal space and support for individual lives. Emphasizing sustainability, the design incorporates local materials and collaborations with businesses and artisans. By blending modern comfort with traditional craftsmanship, Terrasta transcends the traditional hotel concept, becoming a vibrant hub for creativity, community, and commerce, celebrating both the past and future of Miyakonojo.
Terrasta Hotel by Uds Ltd. emerges as a distinguished contribution to contemporary hospitality design, embodying the increasingly significant biophilic design movement that seeks to restore meaningful connection between built environments and the natural world, positioning this work within a lineage extending from traditional courtyard architecture through modernist experiments with interior gardens to present-day wellness-focused spatial design, the technical achievement here manifests in the precise calibration of the rectangular skylight aperture that functions simultaneously as light source, rain collector for the garden below, and framing device that transforms the sky itself into living artwork, while the material palette demonstrates sophisticated understanding of how warm wood surfaces overhead create psychological comfort and acoustic warmth in contrast to the cool mineral surfaces at floor level, establishing a vertical temperature gradient that guides inhabitation patterns, the compositional decision to place living vegetation at the spatial and experiential heart of the room rather than as peripheral ornament represents a fundamental reconception of interior hierarchy that privileges natural process over static decoration, the rockery composition itself rewards close observation through its avoidance of obvious symmetry while maintaining visual balance through careful weight distribution of larger limestone masses against scattered smaller cobbles and the organic counterpoint of driftwood elements, thematically the work engages enduring questions about the relationship between shelter and exposure, control and wildness, permanence and growth, inviting contemplation of how architecture might nurture rather than exclude the natural forces it traditionally resists, one might consider how this interior garden functions as a daily meditation object for guests, changing with seasons, weather, and light throughout each day, offering an antidote to the disconnection from natural rhythms that characterizes much contemporary experience.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Terrasta is a mixed-use hotel located in the heart of Miyakonojo City, developed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Based on local feedback, the project addresses the demand for middle to upper class accommodations, offering tenant spaces and common areas that support daily life. We have been involved in function planning, concept research, and architectural and interior design, aiming to contribute to the city’s revitalization by establishing the hotel as a new community hub.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The seven-story building, constructed with a steel structure, has a total floor area of approximately 8,535.43 square meters. The hotel includes 93 guest rooms, two restaurants, and a public lounge. The common areas feature a supermarket, rental office space, a local radio station, and five additional tenant spaces.
- Tags
- hotel, japan, mixed-use, community, terrasta
- Production Technology
- The exterior finish features Shinmoe Brick, crafted from volcanic ash sourced from Mt. Shinmoe, while the interior walls are adorned with Takachiho Shirasu plaster and local lava stones, paying homage to the region's history and blending harmoniously with neighboring architecture. The interior combines soft brick tones with wood and brass elements, infused with Japanese aesthetics. Additionally, it showcases Miyakonojo's talent through collaborations with local artists, designers, and students.
- Design Challenge
- To showcase local talent and businesses, we prioritized efficient research and collaboration. We partnered with over ten artists and local shops across various fields; graphic design, flower arrangement, Japanese lacquer, and woodcraft, to create unique art pieces for each area and special guest rooms. Amenities and tableware for the hotel were also sourced from local shops. Additionally, we held workshops with students from a local design school, bringing one of their guestroom designs to life.
- Project Duration
- The project began in April 2020, was completed in March 2022, and opened for operation in April 2022. It is located in Miyakonojo City, in northern Kyushu, Japan, known for its agricultural focus between larger cities like Miyazaki and Kagoshima.
- Operation Flow
- The concept of Stage where in and out meets features a design resembling stacked stories. The ground and second floors host public amenities, including supermarkets and tenants, linking to an existing city plaza and transitioning to the hotel on the third floor. Selected tenants support local businesses by offering products integrated into the hotel. The hotel lobby features an open-plan layout adorned with local artworks, serving as a lobby for guests and a communal lounge for community.
- Research
- This project is located in the once-thriving shopping district of Miyakonojo City, which declined in the 1980s as shuttered shops turned it into a quiet passage between larger cities. The project aims to revitalize the city by transforming old community hubs into new beginnings. Our research showed that many pass through Miyakonojo without stopping, so we proposed a hotel to attract visitors, combining it with other facilities that support local businesses, creating a destination worth visiting.
- Inspiration
- The name Terrasta blends terrace and stage symbolizing communal space and support for individual lives. Its design merges exterior public areas with the interior through stairs and terraces, enhancing plaza usability and fostering community liveliness. The interior highlights various aspects of the city, showcasing local resources and collaborating with locals to create unique spaces. It transcends the typical hotel concept, becoming a dynamic hub for creativity, community, and commerce.
- Image Credits
- Image #No1 : Photographer Nacasa & Partners Inc., TERRASTA, 2022
Image #No2 : Photographer Nacasa & Partners Inc., TERRASTA, 2022
Image #No3 : Photographer Nacasa & Partners Inc., TERRASTA, 2022
Image #No4 : Photographer Nacasa & Partners Inc., TERRASTA, 2022
Image #No5 : Photographer Nacasa & Partners Inc., TERRASTA, 2022 - Patents
- copyrights belong to uds ltd. 2024.
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Mixed-Use Development Design Services
We transform urban spaces through integrated business planning, architectural design, and operational expertise. Specializing in hospitality, retail, and community-focused projects, we create sustainable environments that balance social impact with commercial success.
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