Hakuba Japan by Day & Light
In the northwest of the prefecture of Nagano, at the foot of the 3,000 m high northern Japanese Alps, lies Hakuba, the birthplace of Japanese skiing.
The modern Nobel chalet of KANOLLY-Resorts does not need brocade and gold edge and certainly no Swiss Heidi appeal to present itself confidently. The young and innovative architectural firm GENETO (Kioto and Tokyo), appointed as part of a competition, designed a three-part building complex that harmoniously blends into the mountain village in a restrained but tasteful formal language and materiality.
The three-part building complex accommodates the mountain silhouette of the three dominant mountains Yarigatake, Shakushidake and Shiroumadake and is based on the climate-related regional construction with steep roofs to defy the high snow conditions. Due to the transparency of the facade and the views, the surrounding nature becomes a noticeable part of the rooms. The light supports this transparency, combines indoor and outdoor space and makes the structure, color and shape of the natural materials noticeable: wood and teppei stone from the region.
The interiors offer a luxury that does not seem glamorous or even intrusive. It is more of an experience of natural materials and shapes that gives a relaxed feeling of “home” instead of “hotel” and a touch of Japanese Wabi-Sabi.
Photos by Yasutake Kondo
