"NOT A HOTEL announces its latest iteration for the Japanese island of Yakushima, this time with architecture by Jean Nouvel. The lush, rain-soaked location for this upcoming boutique hotel is a UNESCO World Heritage site celebrated for its ancient cedar forests and shifting coastal weather. Commissioned by the hospitality brand NOT A HOTEL, the project will hide within a landscape defined by moss-covered rocks and misty green canopies."
"Jean Nouvel's design draws directly from the island's topography, embedding the building within the natural contours of the terrain. Walls of locally-sourced stone and broad panes of glass form a low, grounded structure that can be gradually discovered as the forest unfolds. Thus, the architecture reflects the island's elements, welcoming the rain and shadow as a part of its atmosphere."
"Ateliers Jean Nouvel approaches the design of NOT A HOTEL YAKUSHIMA as a celebration of absence. ' The most sophisticated things belong to nature - its landscapes, its paths, its reliefs, the views that will be revealed; everything else is absence,' the architect explains, describing his approach. His words emphasize the project's restraint. The built space becomes a quiet frame for Yakushima's scenery, rather than an object within it."
Yakushima's UNESCO World Heritage cedar forests and shifting coastal weather set the project's context. The retreat is embedded into the island's natural contours, using locally sourced stone walls and large glass panes to create a low, grounded structure that is gradually revealed through the forest. The design celebrates absence, letting landscapes, paths, reliefs, and views dominate while built elements remain restrained. Interior spaces open broadly to forest and sea, with subtle indoor-outdoor transitions responsive to weather and daylight. Stone surfaces collect rainwater and reflect skies, while expanses of glass channel sounds of wind and water.
Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine
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