Not A Hotel Rusutsu
Snøhetta’s Minimalist Design for a Japanese Vacation Home
Shared ownership, shared vision
The Japanese “Not a Hotel” project asks an interesting question of well-off cosmopolitans: why have full ownership over properties just for them to go underutilized? A middle ground between luxury real estate and high-end hospitality, their shared ownership model offers a blend of exclusivity and flexibility with multiple individuals co-owning a property. In this system, owners purchase shares corresponding to their desired annual usage, making it ideal for those seeking a vacation home without the year-round costs and responsibilities. In short: this is the stuff every frequent traveler dreams of.
Working with world-renowned designers and architects, Not a Hotel builds vacation homes that truly rival anything on the market in terms of creativity, sustainability, and artistry. For their most recent project, Rusutsu Resort, they contacted the Hong Kong office of rockstar architect firm Snøhetta to work their magic envisioning a luxurious modern home atop the snow-covered hills of the island of Hokkaido.
Elevating the human experience
Set within the forested hills of the small village of Rusutsu, the villa is strategically positioned to offer stunning views of Mount Yōtei while maintaining harmony with the surrounding landscape. The project’s goals align perfectly with Snøhetta’s overall architectural design philosophy that prioritizes the seamless blending of architecture and nature, using organic forms, natural materials, and sustainable practices to ensure that the buildings become an extension of the environment.
The home is designed with expansive glass facades that allow for uninterrupted views of the natural surroundings, while the use of locally sourced wood and stone enhances the connection between the interior spaces and the great outdoors. The roofs are angled in a crescent-like shape to mimic the slopes of the nearby mountains, and the structures are partially embedded into the landscape, reducing their visual impact.
Photorealism against all odds
When our architectural visualization team was tasked with creating photorealistic 3D renders of the Not a Hotel Rusutsu Resort, the challenge lay in faithfully representing the seamless integration of the building and its surrounding natural landscape.
With no access to high-definition images or drone footage of the area, we had to rely on carefully monitored and curated deep learning algorithms to enhance a rough 3D model of the hills and craft small details to add to the environment for realism. We then further refined these outputs manually with meticulous post-processing work to ensure that every snowy tree, white mountain slope, and rugged texture aligns with the aesthetic and environmental context envisioned by Snøhetta.
As a last step, we had to add fully a computer-generated snow effect to the sunken middle part of the structure to demonstrate how the villa can blend seamlessly with the vista during Winter when the ski resort shows arguably its best form. Since Hokkaido is known worldwide for its powder-like snow, we had to be extremely careful in faithfully representing this important quality.
Variety is key
We firmly believe that quantity equals quality – or at least that providing more options to our clients than originally asked for always results in better outcomes. Such was the case with this special project as well. For the 3 images ordered, we delivered a total of 15 sketches for Snøhetta to allow them to choose the ones best aligning with their needs. Our team’s varied output usually makes it easier to represent any concept in the best possible way, ensuring possible options in the sketch phase.
Going forward, we plan on adhering to the same principle whenever possible to offer an outstanding value proposition in 3D architectural visualization services.
Project details
Location
Rusutsu, Japan
Design
Client
Team
Péter Kollár
Botond Sass
