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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Nest at Amami Beach Villas in Japan by Atelier TekutoAugust 8th, 2018 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Atelier Tekuto Nest at Amami Beach Villas —-In-between the Sky and the Sea This resort complex is located in TEKUTO’s architect Yasuhiro Yamashita’s birthplace of Amami Oshima, a subtropical island halfway between Okinawa and the southern tip of Kyushu (the most southwestern island of the four main islands of Japan.)  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro
 Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro Amami Oshima, with a population of 60 thousand, is the largest of the Amami Islands, an archipelago listed for registration for the UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites. It is an island easily accessible, with Amami Airport boasting 44 incoming and outgoing flights a day.  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro Its unique culture and natural environment have been preserved for thousands of years. Amamian culture is renowned for its folk songs and dances, influenced by cultures of both the Ryukyu Dynasty of Okinawa and the Satsuma Domain which covered a large part of Kyushu during the Edo period (1603-1868.) It has forests rich in flora and fauna such as dark-furred Amami rabbits and is surrounded by beautiful beaches with coral reefs.  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro Sugarcane and fruit farming are currently its major industries. It still carries on the tradition of Oshima Tsumugi textile production (silk kimono fabric dyed with mud, rich in iron) which used to be the key industry in the past.  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro In spite of all its beauty based on its natural environment preserved from antiquity and its adorable culture, one thing Amami lacked was luxurious accommodations for high-end travelers.  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro I personally bore the responsibility of searching for the ideal site for a resort complex, starting in March 2015, the construction began in August of 2016 and completion was achieved in November 2017. The complex is comprised of 3 types of buildings: an administration building with the hotel reception and restaurant, 3 luxury pool villas and 10 semi-detached villas, totaling 14 buildings with 23 guest rooms.  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro The sloped site faces the sea to the southeast with a height difference of 25 meters. Tranquility and intimacy dominates the gentle path leading down to a beautiful beach on the quiet inland sea. The landscape was constructed in such a way as to restore the original indigenous seascape of Amami and embed the structures into the surrounding vegetation and nature.  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro The form of the Pool Villas, developed together with the structural engineer, was inspired by traditional Amamian raised-floor granaries, traditional local hip-and-gable roofed houses and also conch-shells found in Amami. The exterior walls and roofs are clad with silver-gray wood planks developed for this project. I experimented with locally sourced Itajii (Castanopsis sieboldii) lumber and applied the same traditional mud-dyeing method used for dying the Oshima Tsumugi textile. The Itajii wood rich in tannin, when soaked in the iron-rich mud of Amami, hosts a chemical reaction that turns the wood into a deep gray color.  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro The roofs of the other structures also use this material. The semi-detached villas named 2-Key Villas repeat the same pair of plans, rhythmically staggering their positions both plan-wise and section-wise. Half of the 2-Key Villas can also be used as a suite connected via the terrace. Two large roofs of the restaurant building overlap each other at odd angles, protruding dynamically, giving the space a swirling feel and multilayered complexity. Such architectural forms and multilayered space all come from an underlying concept, “Designing the In-betweens” that ties the whole project together.  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro Designing the In-betweens Amami Oshima has been the site of numerous conflicts and battles throughout its history. It has been repeatedly claimed in turns by both the Ryuku Dynasty and Satsuma Domain since the medieval era all through to the Edo period. After World War II, it was governed by the United States for 8 years until it was returned to Japan in 1953.  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro It can be said that the identity of Amami has always found its stand in between others, both geographically and historically. I believe the commission to design this resort complex came to me for several reasons. Being from this island, having created numerous pieces of characteristic architecture with compact spaces, and having developed original construction methods and structures utilizing local materials of various regions and having researched resort facilities for a long period of time.  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro Upon embarking on this project, I not only studied the history, nature and vegetation of Amami, but also conducted an extensive survey of the existing accommodation facilities on the island. Through the process, I arrived at the conclusion that affair of designing in and for Amami is a matter of “designing the in-betweens.” The concept can be broken down into five aspects. . Achieving the sense of self liberation in between the vast sky and the sea. . Restoring the local indigenous vegetation which has deteriorated, placed in between nature and human activity . Combining the sense of tradition and newness together in between traditional and new architecture . Developing a material for architecture unique to Amami in between methods of traditional industries and new materials . Providing a wide variety of accommodation facilities and food services in between times, before Amami Islands is formally enlisted as a UNESCO natural heritage site. Designing the in-betweens is by no means a negative mindset. I regard this concept as a new way of making progress through defining one’s own standpoint, learning from history, breaking the status quo, and to take control of one’s own future.  Image Courtesy © SOBAJIMA, Toshihiro  Image Courtesy © Atelier Tekuto  Image Courtesy © Atelier Tekuto
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Tags: Japan Categories: complex, Resort, Restaurant, Rhinoceros |
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