LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Channeling the Charms of Taketomi Island
Taketomi Island is one of few remaining places in Japan where life is centered around traditional villages, cultures, and arts. Hasegawa's biggest challenge was how to introduce a resort, offering something new, into such a compact universe without disrupting its continuity.
He learned that homes on Taketomi were once built behind concentric walls around a castle-like structure. Modern homes, however, are each surrounded by stone walls and situated parallel or perpendicular to each other. Hasegawa decided to incorporate both elements into his design.
The more Hasegawa looked into Taketomi's architectural features, the more he saw how specific they were to this island in the way they offered privacy and protection from the elements. He realized these features would not only serve the landscape, but also the resort's guests.
The result is a fifteen-acre village where every guest has their own garden in which they can relax, and where life moves at a calm pace, whether in the small kitchen garden or the large, wide open pool. Everything here is a natural, fitting extension of the charms of this island.
