large carves not a hotel Setouchi villas on the hillside
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) completes NOT A HOTEL Setuchi, a resort of three distinct villas on the remote island of Sagishima, Japanmarking the Copenhagen-based studio’s first construction project in the country. Located on a 30,000 square meter site on the southwestern tip of the island, the project integrates directly into the natural contours of the hillside, with load-bearing walls made from earth excavated on site using the traditional rammed earth technique.
The design (find previous coverage of designboom here) draws openly on Japanese vernacular architecture, reinterpreting its logic through a Scandinavian sensibility. Glass facades dissolves the boundary between indoor and outdoor space in the manner of shoji screens. Black slate floors refer to the geometry of tatami mats. Roofs they are coated with low reflectivity solar tiles, a technological translation of the traditional Japanese roof form, while functional facades and overhangs support passive cooling and on-site rainwater harvesting feeds the landscaping. Before construction, native grasses were harvested and later reintroduced along with olive trees, lemon trees and native vegetation, restoring the undulating terrain that defines the site’s character.
all images from Kenta Hasegawa
three villas, three views of sagishima island, japan
The three four-bedroom villas from the architects at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), named ‘180’, ‘270’ and ‘360’ in reference to their respective panoramic views, which are distributed across the site’s various elevations, designed according to its specific position within the landscape. At its highest point, the ring-shaped ‘360’ offers unobstructed views in every direction, organized around a sheltered inner courtyard. ‘270’ frames a sweeping view of the surrounding archipelago, with a sauna, fireplace and outdoor relaxation areas arranged around a swimming pool. Closer to the water, ‘180’ takes its form from the coastline itself, its curved profile following the shore line, with a grassy interior courtyard planted with seasonally changing trees. Each villa flows as a single, continuous space, with bathrooms and storage areas housed in separate pods crowned by skylights, ensuring a vision of the sky from every room.
NOT A HOTEL Setouchi is part of it of the brand wider network of luxury vacation homes across Japan, offered through a shared fractional ownership model.
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) completes NOT A HOTEL Setouchi
the Copenhagen-based studio’s first project in the country
