Architects:Bjarke Ingels Group

Area:2350m²

Photographs:Kenta Hasegawa

Category:Hotels,Sustainability

Partners In Charge:Bjarke Ingels, Leon Rost

Project Manager:Yu Inamoto

Design Lead:Ryohei Koike

Project Architect:Mamoru Hoshi

Project Team:Ahmad Tabbakh, Andrea Megan Hektor, Casey Tucker, Christina Papadopoulou, Cullen Yoshihiko Fu, Don Chen, Jan Leenknegt, Konstantinos Koutsoupakis, Margaret Tyrpa, Matthew Lau, Naysan John Foroudi, Oskar Alfred Maly, Paul Heberle, Pavel Tomek, and Sang Ha Jung

Client:NOT A HOTEL

Collaborators:Maeda Corporation, Arup Japan, 1moku, NOSIGHT, BOCS, MIR, LIT design

City:Setouchi

Country:Japan

Text description provided by the architects. Surrounded by the Seto Inland Sea, NOT A HOTEL's newest resort – NOT A HOTEL Setouchi – is now open on the remote island of Sagishima. The three distinct villas are made of soil directly from the site using the traditional rammed earth technique, carved into the island's mountainous terrain. Made up of three villas, a beachfront restaurant, and a private beach, NOT A HOTEL Setouchi is set on a 30,000-m2 site on the southwestern cape of Sagishima. Designed by BIG with construction taking less than two years, fractional ownership was offered through NOT A HOTEL's shared ownership model, building upon the brand's network of luxury vacation homes across Japan.

"We are beyond honoured to have partnered with BIG in realising the company's first buildings in Japan. This is a landmark moment for NOT A HOTEL's mission to make Japan even more valuable, and we are sure that BIG's three SETOUCHI villas will provide their owners with unprecedented experiences for years to come." - Shinji Hamauzu, Founder, Co-CEO, Chief Visionary, NOT A HOTEL

Guided by the dialogue between Scandinavian and Japanese design, NOT A HOTEL Setouchi is designed to work with the natural contours of Sagishima's landscape. Central to the masterplan was the restoration of the undulating terrain: grasses harvested ahead of construction, with olive trees, lemon trees, and native vegetation reintroduced to bring the site's natural beauty back to life. The four-bedroom villas - named '180', '270' and '360' depending on location and corresponding views – are built into the site's various elevations, aligning with existing roads and infrastructure - unfolding like a ribbon winding up the hillside.

"NOT A HOTEL Setouchi are our first completed buildings in Japan, a culture that has had a profound impact on myself and my understanding of architecture; a place where fearless Futurism and deep traditional roots coexist in contrasting harmony. It has been an absolute architectural adventure to work with NOT A HOTEL to make this vision come to life. The archipelago around Sagishima is like a Japanese landscape painting. Steep rolling hills covered in lush green vegetation erupt from the tranquillity of the Seto Inland Sea. The four pavilions are conceived as extensions of the dramatic topography. Hilltops and peninsulas, outcroppings and canyons are outlined by rammed earth walls and solar roofs to provide pavilions with 360-, 270-, 180-, and 90-degree views of the surrounding scenery. On one hand, each home is like an inhabited view, open and extroverted. On the other hand, their spinal walls outline a private and protected space – open only to the sky. Macrocosmos meets microcosmos, traditional meets modern; Scandinavian and Japanese, the villas are architectural oxymorons embodying seemingly contradictory elements into a holistic, hospitable whole." - Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director, BIG

As a nod to Japanese vernacular design, the villas incorporate local materials and honour traditional Japanese architectural elements. The glass facades that dissolve the boundary between inside and out reinterpret shoji screens, while the pattern of the black slate floors takes cues from the layout of Japanese tatami mats. Incorporating soil directly from the site, the load-bearing clay walls are made using the traditional rammed earth technique, revealing colors and textures like geological strata.

Each villa has been designed to reflect and respond to its unique position on the property. Sitting at the highest point of the site, the ring-shaped '360' offers unobstructed views across Setouchi's layered land and seascape in every direction, with a private courtyard in the middle. '270' frames an expansive 270-degree panorama of the surrounding archipelago, featuring a sauna and outdoor relaxation areas arranged like floating islands around a pool alongside a firepit. At the peninsula's tip, closest to the water's edge, '180' takes its shape from the coastline itself, with a curved form that echoes the shore. An inner courtyard unfolds with gentle slopes, mossy pathways, and trees that change color with the seasons.

The homes each flow as one large, unified space, with bathrooms and storage contained within separate pods. Skylights crown each pod, ensuring views of the sky no matter the room – balancing openness and solitude. Traditional Japanese baths, calming color palettes, outdoor firepits, and heated infinity pools create a seamless transition from home to nature.

"When we first visited Sagishima, we found ourselves tracing the terraced contours of the site, always drawn toward the horizon. That walk wrote the architecture – each step along the hillside became the curving forms of the villas, their long facades opening to capture the panoramic sea." - Leon Rost, Partner, BIG

Covered in low-reflective solar tiles, the roofs are a technological and modern interpretation of a traditional Japanese roof. Operable façades and overhangs promote passive cooling in spring and summer, while rainwater is collected onsite to irrigate the landscaping.

"What began as BIG's ambition to create something that could serve as a gift to the majestic landscape of Setouchi was realized with NOT A HOTEL's mission to elevate the value of Japan as well as the enduring craftsmanship that still exists across the country, the skill of its builders and artisans, the support of the local community, and the dedication of everyone involved - turning what first felt like a dreamlike fiction into a reality. The project stands as a remarkable convergence of Danish design and philosophy, traditional Japanese architecture, and the technical sophistication and construction precision of contemporary Japan. NOT A HOTEL Setouchi could have only been made in this place, at this moment, and by this team, and that is what makes it truly special." - Ryohei Koike, Associate, BIG

NOT A HOTEL Setouchi joins BIG's growing portfolio of hospitality projects, including Audemars Piguet's Hôtel des Horlogers in the Swiss mountains; The Biosphere at Treehotel in Swedish Lapland; and the upcoming El Cosmico in Texas.

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