An Ode to Raw Silk
Program - Hospitality / Hotel
Phase - Architecture
Stage - Concept Design
Area - 12300 sqm
Architecture and Interior Design made by MQ-Studio Shanghai with Andy Hall as Design Director and Ruccu Corfita as Project Architect
Private Client
Yokohama Hotel - Yokohama, Japan
An Ode to Raw Silk
The concept for this hotel began with a single thread—raw silk.
At the end of the 19th century, raw silk shaped Japan’s economic ascent and played a defining role in Yokohama’s rise as a global trading port. Exported across oceans in tightly wrapped silk balots, this humble material became a symbol of prosperity, elegance, and transformation.
We drew inspiration from these silk balots—their textures, volumes, and the quiet dignity they carry. The architecture reinterprets their compact softness and modular logic, imagining the building itself as a stack of refined, tactile forms. Like silk, the design is structured yet flowing, restrained yet rich in detail.
This project is a contemporary homage to a material that helped Japan modernize—and to Yokohama, a city where East and West have long converged. The architecture translates the essence of silk into spatial rhythms: clean lines echo weaving patterns, subtle surface textures invite touch, and transitions between light and shadow reflect the interplay of fiber and sheen.
Our intention was always to continue this narrative into the interior spaces—using the architectural concept as a foundation for a fully integrated spatial story. One that allows guests not only to stay in Yokohama but to feel connected to its layered history through form, material, and atmosphere.
