Graceful Purple Clouds Hover Over Your Head

This article was originally published in the September/October 2009 issue of The ROYAL.

The ROYAL SIGN　
－Treasure Hunting at RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka－

　The “Gokusui” (winding stream) draws a subtle curve through the main lounge and flows into the Japanese outdoor garden. The “sky,” the atrium, is illuminated by an impressive chandelier. 

　The theme of the design of this lounge is “the fusion between nature and artificial architectural space,” and the chandelier created by Tada Minami eloquently embodies the theme. The chandelier represents “Shiun” (purple clouds), and it is made up of 250,000 small rods of crystal glass, each about 10 cm long, strung on 45,000 steel wires that cover the bulbs and form 21 “Shiun.” 

　The chandelier can be seen from the main lounge on the first floor and the banquet lobby on the second floor, both beautiful in different ways. “Shiun” refers to the purple clouds the Buddha rides to temples, and the chandelier looks both dreamy and realistic at the same time. 

　As a sculptor, Tada won the Grand Prize at the first Henry Moore Grand Prize Exhibition in 1979. She has also created chandeliers for the Korin banquet hall and the Diamond Room of the RIHGA Royal Hotel.

Text by Ko Hiroki
Photography by Harry Nakanishi

This article was originally published in the September/October 2009 issue of The ROYAL.