blog: design, place, people

Explore Niseko and beyond with us. [Photos © Sanctuary Niseko unless stated otherwise]

A Good Read

A book that reflects our innate yearning to reconnect with the great outdoors, while displaying the possibilities of good design, the right materials and the right mindset.

The Hinterland: Cabins, Love Shacks and Other Hide-Outs
Escaping the everyday.

 

A Forest Retreat

Set within the forested region of Karuizawa, this weekend retreat was built by Iida Archiship Studio with a sense of true Japanese elegant minimalist design. Elegance is indeed a quality rarely extracted from concrete as a building material, but thanks to the simple gable shape and the slender columns which support the extended pitched roof of Omizubata N House, this has been achieved.

designboom.com/…/omizubata-n-house-by-iida-archiship-studi…/
iida-arc.com/

Rediscovering the power of simple design

A contemporary evolution of the traditional A-frame cabin vernacular – a stunning example of sensitivity to materiality and connectivity to landscape and place. Architect Jean Verville architecte moaq, doctorant PhD Art UQAMstarted with a stunning tree-blanketed site and a pure geometric expression. From there he pushed, prodded, plucked and pruned that formal simplicity into something that suspends disbelief and cements itself as a welcome addition to an already incredible place.

photos: Maxime Brouillet
frameweb.com/…/jean-verville-facilitates-a-family--s-everyd…

Six slabs of wafer-thin concrete form the floors and walls of this house by Kubota Architect Atelier (KAA)

From the architect. Space for freedom and liberating minds: all architecture exists for that. It sits near the peak of a mountain where picturesque residences blend into nature from long ago. The sloped site, which was cut through the mountain, spins a supreme world of trees and greenery spreading nearby, endlessly extending blue sky, refreshing wind that quivers the surrounding and filled with bright light.

Kubota Architect Atelier tapered the edges of the exposed concrete slabs to exaggerate their thinness. Grassy mounds flank the house to help integrate the sharp lines into the natural setting. "Each space is different in relation to nature, furthermore, the boundary between nature and architecture, that is the edge of the slabs and the walls that define space, are scraped off." "As one side is bare concrete and the other side is all painted in white, materiality and massiveness is lost".

katsufumikubota.jp/works/house/ya_house/
archdaily.com/778638/ya-house-kubota-architect-atelier