A Lakeside Villa, by Nikken Sekkei Architects

On the Water is a guesthouse designed by Nikken Sekkei, the biggest independent architectural firm in Japan. The villa is situated on the edge of the Chuzenji-ko lake in Nikko, Tochigi prefecture. With its two floors and very geometric feel, it was designed as a game of spirals. As the rooms connect, the landscape and temperature change so that the inhabitants are always surprised, whatever the season. 

‘This space looks directly out over the surface of the water, with nothing to interrupt the view. We wanted to emphasise this particular environment and create an exclusive space where you can enjoy nature. You’d never find this in a city,’ explains Satoshi Onda, one of the architects in charge of the project, in the press release. ‘We wanted the inhabitants to appreciate the changing view when they approach and walk through the building,’ he continues.

Preserving the environment

The building covers 640 square metres and stands at the top of a slope roughly seven metres high, which descends from the coastal path to the lake. To avoid having too large an impact on the naturalness of the place and to preserve the unique character of this remote environment, the architects decided that rather than raising the ground level, they would place the building down very low, almost at the level of Chuzenji-ko. Thanks to the building’s spiral shape, the distance between its inhabitants and the water, the reflection of the lake, and the humidity and the temperature are constantly evolving and offering a new experience every time.

This vision of architecture that seeks to integrate buildings into the environment as seamlessly as possible, while offering the owners a particular relationship with nature, is very important in the work of Japanese architects like that of Nikken Sekkei, and also Kengo Kuma and Ryue Nishizawa.

On the Water (2015), a project by Nikken Sekkei, is visible on their website.