TAIZA AWAI-CLUB SHIROSHIMA VILLA designed by supermaniac inc.
Shiroshima is a small island off the coast of Taiza in Kyotango, separated from the mainland by water and a narrow passage. This island has long been considered a sacred place, imbuing it with a rich cultural and spiritual significance. Any hospitality project established here must be designed with sensitivity to the landscape and aim to provide guests with a meaningful experience.
TAIZA AWAI-CLUB SHIROSHIMA VILLA consists of two accommodation buildings, Mizu Yadoru and Hi Yadoru, designed by Nobuaki Suzuki of supermaniac inc. Together, these buildings exemplify the concept of "Primitive Luxury," focusing on time, privacy, and a close relationship with nature. This evolving interpretation of luxury highlights the contemporary traveller's desire to slow down, revel in privacy, and engage mindfully with their surroundings. The rhythm of a stay at Shiroshima is dictated by the sea, weather, and changing daylight, allowing each guest's experience to resonate with the island itself. In the architectural design, supermaniac inc. minimized the use of walls and columns to enhance connectivity to the environment, fulfilling privacy needs while maintaining a bond with nature. This strategy enables light, sea air, and the sound of water to flow freely throughout the interior spaces, allowing guests to stay linked to the island experience even indoors.
Mizu Yadoru is designed with an openness toward the sea, while Hi Yadoru offers a more sheltered atmosphere that promotes contemplation. This diversity in design allows guests to engage with the island through varying levels of light, enclosure, and view. Rooms in Mizu Yadoru provide a horizon view just steps from the bed. Timber latticework and shoji-like screens filter daylight, creating a seamless transition between the interior and exterior. The ambiance within shifts naturally throughout the day, as sunlight travels across the space. A prominent treasure-wheel motif behind the bed symbolizes gratitude to the ocean, reflecting Taiza's fishing heritage and serving as a visual focal point. Its natural texture complements the room’s overall material palette.
Conversely, Hi Yadoru promotes a more introspective experience, utilizing darker tones and exposed timber to enhance the sense of shelter. This design encourages guests to immerse themselves in the island's textures and subtleties before shifting their focus to the expansive landscape beyond. The contrast between the two buildings adds emotional depth to the retreat: Mizu Yadoru directs attention to the horizon and the dynamic sea, while Hi Yadoru envelops guests in tranquillity and safety. Both structures uphold an appreciation for natural materials and the island's unique character.
Shared living spaces feature low furniture that maintains a visual connection with the coastline. In a sunken seating area, guests gather around a low table, enjoying uninterrupted views of pine trees, rocks, and the open sea. This setting invites conversation, reflection, and a deeper engagement with the surrounding environment.
The dining area fosters a more intimate connection with the landscape. A long timber table sits beneath striking dark pendant lights, complemented by a glazed wall that opens outward. As day transitions to night, views shift from the sea's brightness to the island's rich hues and shadows. Timber, earthy plaster, woven screens, stone, and dark metals create a warm and textured interior, providing a stable refuge against the ever-changing conditions outside. These materials allow the elements- weather, season, and natural light to weave into the character of each room.
The understated scale of the buildings respects the interplay between architecture and landscape. Dark timber walls, sloped roofs, and carefully curated stone gardens allow the villas to integrate harmoniously among the existing pines. Aerial views reveal the coastline, rock formations, and tree canopy as defining features of Shiroshima. "Primitive Luxury" encapsulates an experience shaped by time, place, and sensory attentiveness. At the villa, comfort resides in privacy, silence, natural materials, and the unhurried observation of the sea. The architecture creates an environment in which these elements can be fully appreciated throughout the day.
TAIZA AWAI-CLUB SHIROSHIMA VILLA offers guests a unique and respectful connection to one of Kyotango's coastal landscapes. Through Mizu Yadoru and Hi Yadoru, supermaniac inc. has created two complementary spaces that embody this vision.
PEGGY'S EDITOR'S NOTE
“Primitive Luxury” evolves into a profound philosophy of place at Shiroshima Villa. The project treats the landscape with absolute reverence, creating an architectural dialogue where every decision amplifies the island’s natural beauty. The innovation of the villa lies in its capacity to curate a guest’s experience around the quiet, unfolding narratives of weather, sea, and light. It offers a compelling vision of contemporary hospitality, centred on fostering a state of profound presence. In this setting, the most meaningful amenities such as silence, privacy, and the unhurried observation of nature’s enduring cycles become the primary focus, offering guests an immersive connection to the island's rhythms.
EDITOR'S REVIEW
The project explores a masterful discipline of subtraction, where every structural choice exists to give the coastline and sacred landscape room to breathe. The interiors serve as a vessel for light, air, and the rhythms of the sea, inviting the environment into the guest's daily rituals. Mizu Yadoru and Hi Yadoru offer a sophisticated duality: the former acts as a luminous, expansive connection to the horizon, while the latter serves as a grounded, introspective sanctuary. Luxury here finds expression in the restoration of time and the heightening of sensory awareness. Symbolic elements, such as the treasure-wheel motif, are woven into the architecture with restraint, feeling indigenous to the space and honouring the site's heritage with elegance.
ORIGINAL DESIGNER SUBMISSION — VERBATIM
TAIZA AWAI-CLUB SHIROSHIMA VILLA
Project Completion: July 1, 2025
Company URL: https://supermaniac.ne.jp/
Design: Nobuaki Suzuki (supermaniac inc.)
Direction: Akitoshi Imafuku (supermaniac inc.)
A ryokan that embraces nature and converses with it
Nestled within Taiza, Kyotango, the two buildings of “Mizu Yadoru” and “Hi Yadoru”, the Shiroshima Villa of Sumihei Taiza Awai-Club, occupy the entire island of Shiroshima. This island, long revered as a sacred dwelling place, stands solitary and secluded. The concept is “Primitive Luxury.” Believing that true luxury lies in embracing nature as it is and conversing with it, the design prioritized removing walls and pillars wherever possible. This allows not only the natural scenery but even the very essence of nature to permeate the space. The luxury here lies in simply watching and listening to the sea spread before you, letting time pass. Design progressed with the priority of accentuating this luxury.
True to its ancient name, “Kami Yadoru Island,” a sacred dwelling place, this place exudes a profoundly positive energy. Out of respect for the island, the design strives to preserve nature as much as possible. In the rooms of “Mizu Yadoru” facing the sea, a large treasure wheel adorns the headboard, expressing reverence for the ocean. In this way, gratitude for being allowed to spend time with the island is woven into every detail.
