Not A City and Skwat are turning the former Imperial Hotel Plaza into a new cultural complex

Rising costs and redevelopment delays may not sound like the makings of good news, but there’s an unexpected silver lining to Tokyo’s construction crunch. A brand-new cultural complex is set to take shape in the heart of the capital – by assuming control over the site of a large-scale redevelopment project that has been delayed amid soaring construction costs.

Hosting the up-and-coming pop-up complex is the former Imperial Hotel Plaza Tokyo, a shopping facility directly behind the Imperial Hotel Tokyo that once housed numerous luxury brands. The enigmatically named Not A Museum will open its doors on the site in summer 2027 and will operate for a limited period of approximately four years – until March 2031 – making use of the time before the building is demolished.

The project is spearheaded by Not A City, the urban planning subsidiary of the Nota Group of Not A Hotel fame. Evoking similar high-profile projects such as Japa Valley Tokyo, just a few blocks away in Yurakucho, Not A Museum aims to bring new life to the city centre.

Unlike a traditional museum that displays finished, static works of art, Not A Museum will be designed as an evolving sandbox. Built around the core concept of ‘Culture in the making’, it seeks to focus entirely on the process of creation. In other words, visitors can expect a real-time cultural hub blending art, books, music, fashion and cinema.

While this may all sound somewhat abstract, the project can count on the talents of a proven creative force. Not A City is collaborating with Skwat, the group behind cultural hub SKAC (Skwat Kameari Art Centre), headed by Keisuke Nakamura of design firm Daikei Mills. Drawing on its experience producing the popular SKAC, which houses an art book store, record store and café, Skwat will oversee the planning, production and operation of the new hub, while the spatial design will be handled by the architects of Not A Hotel.

With limited time remaining before the building’s eventual demolition, there’s plenty of anticipation around what kind of space will emerge from this liminal setting – and what sort of programmes its two big-name custodians might cook up.

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