The competition brief demanded that the design should reflect the idea of a retreat in nature, inherently implying a romantic notion of living with nature and the elements. The problem was: the site, located in Hokkaido, Japan, was a man-made field neatly parceled up into plots, the site’s natural component is in essence artificial. It clearly was not nature to retreat in.

Why, would anyone who wants to retreat in nature go to this site. There are definitely much more beautiful places in other parts of the world, and even locally Hokkaido has much more to offer such as thermal springs, wooded areas with wildlife, and other natural sites.

So, to challenge the artificial nature of the site we took artificiality one step further, we reject the idea that it is possible to retreat in real nature on this site, and we supplemented our own artificial nature here. The design essentially rejects the site.

We proposed a sphere, partially lifted out of the ground, and made of stacked wooden bricks. This sphere has only two openings, a door and a ventilation hole. Other than this it has no holes, and from the inside the outside cannot be seen. The inside is a 360 degree led screen on which any location in the world can be projected, creating an artificial natural environment.