A hotel by a famed metabolist architect on Sado Island, Niigata, looks to remain closed indefinitely. The Sado Grand Hotel was designed by Kiyonori Kikutake (1928 – 2011), one of the founders of the Metabolist architectural movement, and built in 1967.

Sitting on the shore of Lake Kamo, it was designed to look like it was floating, with two upper levels supported by large concrete pillars and a 120-meter long steel truss structure. A lower level was added a few years later.

The hotel could hold over 400 guests. Operations were temporarily suspended in early 2020, with the company directors not responding to press inquiries. Sado’s tourism market has been sluggish in recent years, with fewer group travelers. The coronavirus pandemic has dealt a further blow to the town’s hotel and ryokan operators.

Sources:
The Niigata Nippo, February 11, 2022.
The Niigata Nippo July 8, 2020.

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