NOT A HOTEL
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 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.
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.
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 colours 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 colour 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 colour palettes, outdoor firepits, and heated infinity pools create a seamless transition from home to nature.
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.
TEAM
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
Collaborators: Maeda Corporation, ARUP Japan, 1moku, NOSIGHT, BOCS, Mir, LIT design
