The architecture does not compete with the landscape, it intensifies it. Two horizontal slabs project beyond the cliff toward the sea, creating a simple but powerful gesture. The house becomes a threshold between the land and the vast openness of the ocean.
Three Slabs
The two horizontal slabs cantilever 30 meters beyond the cliff’s retaining walls toward the sea, maximizing views of the surrounding landscape and horizon. The upper, thinner slab projects beyond the lower, more massive level to offer shelter against harsh subtropical typhoons, torrential rains, and direct sun for the façade. Tall windows bring nature deep into the building dissolving the boundary between interior and landscape. The entry porch in the west and the large terrace on the opposite end extend the domestic space outward. Approximately 10 meters below, a third slab reaches out toward the tip of the headland, carrying an outdoor pool, providing a spectacular, unobstructed view of the sea. The pool is embedded into a landscaped plateau, situated about fourteen meters above the shore, where the experience of the sea and lush nature take over.
The Spa
Below the cantilevered volume, the atmosphere changes. A spa with a gym is cut directly into the rock between the upper and lower plateau. Like a cave — hidden, intimate, almost archaic. The cantilevered house and the lower plateau with the outdoor pool are connected by an elevator. It descends into the canyon-like spaces of the spa, enclosed by raw rock walls, where the landscape gradually reveals itself through a curated window to the sea.
Minimalist Exterior — Sensual Interior
From the outside, the volume of the house appears minimalist, inside however it opens into a sequence of unexpected spaces. The main living areas extend to six meters height, creating a generous, open atmosphere and emphasizing the structural clarity and monumentality of the system. A suspended, screen-like wall out of crafted oak cuts through the entire length of the building to reduce the scale of the interiors and define the relationship between private enclosed rooms and open communal areas.
Coherence of Structure and Space
The flooring made from rough-sawn oak parquetry creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Individually placed woven rugs complement the oak, using round shapes and stronger colours in the living area and softer colours in the private rooms.
The ceilings are executed in white, porcelain-like polished stucco lustro that forms an interesting contrast to the naturally matt oak panels of the flooring and the suspended wall. The same porcelain-like surface applies to the walls of the ancillary rooms, bathrooms, and showers, with soft, rounded corners, as if everything were cast in one piece.
Integrated into the ceiling’s porcelain-like world, the massive structural steel columns will be smoothly ground and finished in white. Their triangular geometry arises directly from their structural function to enable the nearly 30-metre cantilever while organising the expansive open spaces. The full-height trusses establish the coherence between load-bearing structure and space.
Minimalist Clarity — Rich Spatial Experience
The defining aspect of the architectural approach is the minimalist insertion of three slabs into the sloping costal rocks intensifying the experience of the astonishing beauty of the surrounding nature on Okinawa Island.
The architectonic, minimalist intervention itself is the base of the interplay between generous open communal spaces and a rich more sculptural sequence of the private areas. The monumental structural elements are integrated as sculptural objects according to spatial needs of the private suites, shower and bathrooms, or the kitchen. The minimalist complexity soothes the mind, on the one hand, while stimulating it at the same time by providing a rich array of sensual experiences, guiding through the course of the day in direct exchange with the presence of the surrounding nature.
Quote
“The site for the building is an incredibly spectacular and at the same time vulnerable piece of nature. Our architecture for that special place reflects both, respect and excitement. It will enhance the users’ sensual experiences by offering a diversity of materials to look at and touch — opening up spatial sequences of changing scale and proportions.” – Jacques Herzog
