W Osaka
Tadao Ando's 2021 Shinsaibashi tower—cruciform plan, board-formed concrete, narrow slot windows, a compressed atrium channelling light with spatial drama—positions four restaurants, a spa, and the W brand's pool deck within steps of Osaka's most concentrated luxury retail district, the architect's material austerity adding an unexpected rigour to the lifestyle brand's ambitions in Japan's most hedonistic city.