Not a Hotel

Yakushima is an island sustained by the uninterrupted cycle of water. Rising as mist, falling as rain, and flowing across the land before returning to the sea, water shapes topography, nourishes forests, and structures life. The project seeks coexistence with this cycle. The building is conceived not as a mass pressing onto the ground, but as a light intervention resting on natural traces. Elevated on supports, it preserves water flows, root systems, and natural paths, allowing the ground to remain uninterrupted and natural processes to continue beneath. The spiral of a human fingerprint, the growth rings of Yakusugi cedar trees, and ripples formed by raindrops express a shared continuity across scales. Informed by this trace language, the mass bends with topography and water direction. Circulation unfolds from an inner core outward like a spiral, creating moments of pause. Cedar and stone record time, climate, and memory.