KARUIZAWA, NAGANO PREF. ¨C With its smooth curving lines, undulating roof and cedar wood facade, Shigeru Ban¡¯s latest hotel blends with unusual ease into the surrounding forest through which it, quite literally, winds itself.
It¡¯s not often that a structure is built so meticulously around the trees that grew there first. Yet this was the precise goal of Ban when the architect designed Shishi-Iwa House, a new 10-room boutique resort in the mountains of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
The idea behind Shishi-Iwa House, which opened early this year, is as simple as the structure is innovative: to rewrite the rules of traditional hospitality and provide a restorative sanctuary from a fast-paced digital world, with the goal of sparking intellectual creativity in its visitors through a mix of world-class architecture, contemporary art and nature.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.