'Among the Giants' is a finalist competition entry for the Not a Hotel competition in Kitakaruizawa, Japan.
The best path is not the shortest. The project emulates the sense of wander, discovery and spirituality felt during a mountain hike, fostering rhythmic movement, a narrative journey, and complete immersion in nature. It promotes slow-living and intentionality in each step - this is not a hotel; this is a walk among giants.
Within the Rockscape of Kitakaruizawa, four buildings become one with boulders. Strung together by a linear path, they sit nestled within the rocks and erupting from the ground.
Navigating the buildings offers a journey that takes one under and over, between and through rock formations— an experience that draws on the concept of michi-yuki(道行). Along the path, three distinct vignettes are established: (1) compression as they pass under and through boulders, (2) release as they ascend a narrow stair onto an elevated walkway, and (3) compression again as they pass between two buildings. The alternating sensations of light and dark, under and above, compression and release, emulate the richness of a hike through rocky terrain.
The design adopts learnings from traditional Japanese Minka民家, topped with a large curved roof to create tall, monumental spaces, likening to the gravitas and silent presence of mountains looming from above.
Under the buildings, narrow columns dissolve within the trees. Walking between the columns is like walking within the forest, yet from a distance, the buildings- with immensity and stillness, appear to float over all else.
