big carves not a hotel Setouchi villas into the hillside
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) completes NOT A HOTEL Setouchi, a resort of three distinct villas on the remote island of Sagishima, Japan, marking the Copenhagen-based studio’s first built work in the country. Set on a 30,000-square-meter site on the southwestern cape of the island, the project integrates directly into the hillside’s natural contours, with load-bearing walls made from soil excavated on-site using the traditional rammed earth technique.
The design (find designboom’s previous coverage here) draws openly on Japanese vernacular architecture, reinterpreting its logic through a Scandinavian sensibility. Glass facades dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior in the manner of shoji screens; black slate floors reference the geometry of tatami mats. Roofs are clad in low-reflective solar tiles, a technological translation of the traditional Japanese roof form, while operable facades and overhangs support passive cooling, and onsite rainwater collection feeds the landscaping. Ahead of construction, native grasses were harvested and later reintroduced alongside olive trees, lemon trees, and indigenous vegetation, restoring the undulating terrain that defines the character of the site.
all images by Kenta Hasegawa
three villas, three views of the sagishima island, japan
The three four-bedroom villas by the architects at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), named ‘180’, ‘270’, and ‘360’ in reference to their respective panoramic views, which are distributed across the varying elevations of the site, designed in response to its specific position within the landscape. At the highest point, the ring-shaped ‘360’ offers unobstructed views in every direction, organized around a sheltered inner courtyard. ‘270’ frames a sweeping outlook across the surrounding archipelago, with a sauna, firepit, and outdoor relaxation areas arranged around a pool. Closest to the water, ‘180’ takes its form from the coastline itself, its curved profile following the line of the shore, with a mossy inner courtyard planted with seasonally changing trees. Each villa flows as a single, continuous space, with bathrooms and storage housed in separate pods crowned by skylights, ensuring sightlines to the sky from every room.
NOT A HOTEL Setouchi is part of the brand’s 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 built work in the country
the ring-shaped ‘360’ offers unobstructed views in every direction
each villa flows as a single, continuous space
NOT A HOTEL Setouchi is part of the brand’s wider network of luxury vacation homes across Japan
the project integrates directly into the hillside’s natural contours
the design draws openly on Japanese vernacular architecture
glass facades dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior
operable facades and overhangs support passive cooling
black slate floors reference the geometry of tatami mats
a sweeping outlook across the surrounding archipelago
closest to the water, ‘180’ takes its form from the coastline itself
each villa is designed in response to its specific position within the landscape
native grasses were harvested and later reintroduced alongside olive trees, lemon trees, and indigenous vegetation
a mossy inner courtyard planted with seasonally changing trees
project info:
name: NOT A HOTEL Setouchi
architect: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) | @big_builds
location: Sagishima, Setouchi, Japan
size: 2,350 square meters
client: NOT A HOTEL | @notahotel_official
partners-in-charge: Bjarke Ingels, Leon Rost
project manager: Yu Inamoto
design lead: Ryohei Koike
project architect: Mamoru Hoshi
collaborators: Maeda Corporation, ARUP Japan, 1moku, NOSIGHT, BOCS, Mir, LIT design
photographer: Kenta Hasegawa | @kentahasegawa
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