The Roppongi Hills Apartments are located in the 11-hectare Roppongi Hills development in Tokyo, in several residential buildings designed by Conran & Partners.

In the twin 42-storey Residence B & C towers, the apartments combine contemporary European free-flowing plans with Japanese principles of framed views and materiality. Whist certain elements of the traditional Japanese home are retained – the entrance step and seclusion of the master bedroom, for instance – boundaries between other spaces are eroded, and corridors are rationalized into axes and vistas. Three different concepts were developed, each based on different material themes: Forest, Desert and Mountain.

Forest is organized around a lofty double-height space, with a galleried library over the sitting area. End-grain woodblock flooring is combined with cherry-wood panelling that accentuates the verticality of the space. A herringbone oak parquet floor emphasises the scale of Desert, the largest of the apartments; an extensive plain scattered with objects in honey and russet tones of red sandstone and walnut. Mountain, a more compact single-level apartment, has a dark limestone floor softened by rounded sculptural elements of padded nubuck leather in the palest blue – reminiscent of sky-lit snow clinging to black rock.

Conran & Partners also produced designs for serviced apartments located in nearby Residence D. These units are all based on a similar layout: a large open-plan studio organised around a central serviced ‘pod’, containing a bathroom, mini-kitchen and storage, which divides the flowing space into separate entrance, living and sleeping areas. A sliding screen can be used to close off the sleeping area from the living space. Again, three different design concepts were applied to the basic plan, named Spiritualist, Humanist and Hedonist.

Spiritualist employs limestone, teak, wenge wood and tea-green carpet, to evoke a Zen-like atmosphere of calm simplicity. Humanist adopts a modern-Scandinavian aesthetic in oak, tile and natural linen. The dramatic Hedonist combines black-lacquered finishes with white marble, polished bronze and orange and grey carpet for a luxurious sense of urban glamour.

A similarly refined use of materials defines the interior design of the ground floor reception and residents' lounge on the 18th floor. The reception area is a dark, serene space clad in black slate, with a central cedar seating area lined in cream leather. In the lounge, slate is offset by teak wall panels and a bronze servery.