Flowing with the movement of the forest. Shishi-Iwa House by Shigeru Ban
04/02/2019.
[Karuizawa - Kitasaku District - Nagano Prefecture] Japan
metalocus, ANDREA GONZÁLEZ
metalocus, ANDREA GONZÁLEZ
“The genesis of Shishi-Iwa House began with an interest to use architecture as a means to provide a peaceful sanctuary and a place for intellectual creativity. The retreat aims to be a place to reflect and restore energy, and in turn spark new ways of thinking for our guests. Shishi-Iwa House will also serve as a meeting place for corporations, communities and others to exchange ideas and discuss today’s most pressing issues and trends. This property marks the first of a collection of hospitality concepts by HDHP, and our goal is to build similar self- supported and sustainable social projects globally.”
Huy Hoang, CEO of HDH Capital Management
Nestled within serene, verdant woods, Shishi-Iwa House is a two-storey retreat crafted in a smooth, curvilinear form with an undulating roof that flows with the movement of the forest. Ban’s design reflects his tenacious exploration on materials and techniques as a response to the site’s context. To minimise impact on the environment, Ban developed a new building approach that has never been used in hotel construction. With the goal of conserving as many existing trees in the property as possible, timber frames were sandwiched between pre-fabricated plywood panels to create a series of modular structural frames that were transported to the site and assembled to achieve the building’s curvature.“Shishi-Iwa House is built to embrace the notion of social hospitality, which sets the property apart from typical hotel experiences. Rather than only focusing on the private spaces, all areas beyond the rooms are designed for guests to make discoveries and gain new connections. Unique in its architecture, the property is planned to accommodate both individual travellers and groups, where they can choose to take over a terrace villa or the entire hotel, but still be able to enjoy privacy in their own rooms. We are extremely privileged to be working with visionary architect, Shigeru Ban to realise this one-of-a-kind project.”
Head of Project Development Phillip Wang.
Shigeru Ban was born in Tokyo in 1957 and after studying architecture in Los Angeles and New York, he opened an architectural practice in Tokyo, in 1985, with offices in Paris and New York, has designed projects worldwide from private houses to large scale museums.
His cardboard tube structures have aroused enormous interest. As long ago as 1986, he discovered the benefits of this recyclable and resilient material that is also easy to process. Shigeru Ban built the Japanese pavilion for the Expo 2000 world exposition at Hanover – a structure made of cardboard tubes that measured 75 meters in length and 15 meters in height. All the materials used in the structure were recycled after the exhibition. He developed a genuine style of "emergency architecture" as a response to the population explosion and to natural disasters: the foundations of his low-cost houses are made of beer crates filled with sand, and the walls consist of foil-covered cardboard tubes. A house of this sort can be erected in less than seven hours, and is considerably more sturdy than a tent.
Shigeru Ban is currently Professor of Architecture at Keio University and is also a guest lecturer at various other universities across the globe; his works are so exceptional that he was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture in 2005. "Time" magazine describes him as one of the key innovators for the 21st century in the field of architecture and design.
Shigeru Ban has designed projects such as Centre Pompidou Metz and Nine Bridges Golf Clubhouse in Korea. Current projects include new headquarters for Swatch and Omega in Switzerland.