Lego imperial hotel - 21017 Instruction Manual

The original Imperial Hotel was a three-story, wooden 

Victorian-style structure built across the avenue from 

the Emperor’s palace. It opened in 1890 and was the 
only European-style hotel in the country at that time. 
By 1915 the hotel was no longer able to accommodate 
the growing numbers of visitors and it was decided 
to replace the out-dated building with a new modern 
hotel. 

Looking for a western architect who could bridge the 
cultural divide between East and West, the hotel’s 
owners commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design 
and build the new Imperial Hotel. In many ways Wright 
was the perfect choice for the task. He had long been 
fascinated with Japanese culture, especially after his 
first visit to the country in 1905, and had become an 
avid collector of Japanese prints.

Wright was glad to spend a great deal of time in Tokyo 
working on the project that consumed his attention, off 
and on, from 1916 to 1922. His goal from the outset was 
to design a building that would appeal to many and 
genuinely respect the Japanese culture.

The 250 room hotel was designed roughly in the shape 

of its own logo, with the guest room wings forming the 

letter “H”, while the public rooms were in a smaller but 
taller central wing shaped like the letter “I” that cut 
through the middle of the “H”. The visual effect of the 
planned design would be both stunning and dramatic.

Its place in the history of architecture 

21017_BI_NA_JP.indd   6

10/3/13   6:59 PM