PREVIEW

Danish architecture studio Bjarke Ingels Group has unveiled its first completed project in Japan – a striking trio of rammed-earth villas set on a remote island.

The development, called Not A Hotel Setouchi, has been built on Sagishima for hospitality brand Not A Hotel and also features a restaurant pavilion and its own private beach.

The low-lying structures are embedded into the landscape of the 30,000-square-metre coastal site, with the studio saying they were designed as “extensions of the dramatic topography”.

Founder Bjarke Ingels said the scheme marks a personal milestone.

"Not A Hotel Setouchi are our first completed buildings in Japan, a culture that has had a profound impact on myself and my understanding of architecture," he said.

"The archipelago around Sagishima is like a Japanese landscape painting. Steep rolling hills covered in lush green vegetation erupt from the tranquillity of the Seto Inland Sea. The four pavilions are conceived as extensions of the dramatic topography," he added.

"On one hand, each home is like an inhabited view, open and extroverted. On the other, their spinal walls outline a private and protected space – open only to the sky."

The villas were constructed using earth sourced directly from the site and arranged so they wind up the hillside “like a ribbon”.

This layout helps blend the buildings into their surroundings while ensuring each property takes advantage of its own unique vantage point.

Each villa is named after its viewing angle.

The highest, Villa 360, is a circular structure wrapped around a private courtyard with panoramic views.

Villa 270 sits at the centre of the site and offers sweeping sea views alongside a sauna and outdoor loungers set around a pool “like floating islands”.

Closest to the shoreline is Villa 180, a curved building inspired by the coastline, featuring a moss-lined courtyard.

BIG partner Leon Rost said the design was shaped by walking the site.

"When we first visited Sagishima, we found ourselves tracing the terraced contours of the site, always drawn toward the horizon," he said.

"That walk wrote the architecture – each step along the hillside became the curving forms of the villas, their long facades opening to capture the panoramic sea."

Floor-to-ceiling glazing has been used throughout to blur the line between indoors and outdoors, while several features reference traditional Japanese design.

These include black slate floors inspired by tatami layouts and solar-tiled roofs that echo historic Japanese roofing styles.

Inside, the villas are arranged as open-plan spaces, with bathrooms and storage tucked into skylit pods. Each home also includes a traditional Japanese bath, a heated infinity pool and a muted, calming palette.

Associate Ryohei Koike said the project blends multiple influences.

"The project stands as a remarkable convergence of Danish design and philosophy, traditional Japanese architecture, and the technical sophistication and construction precision of contemporary Japan," he concluded.