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Yawn Yard Kouri Island

Schemata Architects

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Silver
General view. Located on the south-west shore of Kouri Island. - Taiki Fukao
Semi-outdoor dining area, between the two volumes that make up one unit. - Taiki Fukao
The sequence of units has slightly different appearances. - Ju Yeon Lee
General view. Located on the south-west shore of Kouri Island. - Taiki Fukao

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Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Hotel
7.11
7.72
7.72
8.06
7.65
Peter Meinders
Peter Meinders Lecturer at Saxion University of Applied Sciences
Tē-Gē; A big contrast with Japan ma...
6.5
8
7
6.5
7
Fo Chen
Fo Chen General Manager at Guangzhou Baietan Mixc
7
6.5
6.5
8
7
Jessica Dimcevski
Jessica Dimcevski Founder and Creative Director at Blurr Bureau
The intentional placement of each p...
6.5
8
8.5
8
7.75
Sarika Shetty
Sarika Shetty Partner at SJK Architects
Timber as a material choice respond...
7
7.5
8
8
7.63
Sam Derrick
Sam Derrick Managing Director at Brinkworth
Whatever 'it' is, Schemata get it,...
8
8.5
9
8.5
8.5
Billy Ip
Billy Ip Principal, Global Sector Leader - Retail at Woods Bagot
7
7.5
8
8.5
7.75
Hong-Bo Cheng
Hong-Bo Cheng Founder and Creative Designer at LubanEra·Design
6.5
7.5
8
8.5
7.63
Laetitia Murguet
Laetitia Murguet Founder at Oani Studio
7.5
7.5
6
7.5
7.13
Kevin Mclachlan
Kevin Mclachlan CEO at NOMADK
Architecturally well placed element...
8
8.5
8.5
9
8.5
Client
Kashiwabara Hands
Floor area
922 ㎡
Completion
2024
Social Media
Instagram Facebook
Portable lamp
Ryukyu limestone of the kitchen counter
Furniture design collaboration
Structural design
Equipment design
Lighting design
Art direction/Sign planning
Artwork
Food design
Project direction
Construction

On Kouri Island, Okinawa, we designed “a garden visitors can stay in” with a beautiful sea view in front of. It is an accommodation facility named Yawn Yard, and one “garden” (one accommodation unit) has semi-outdoor living that blends in with the surrounding landscape and a pool at the core, offering a new way of relaxing that will make you yawn. We proposed a new villa-type hotel where one can spend time harmonizing with nature generously.

Taking advantage of Okinawa's mild climate, in the semi-outdoor dining space, guests can have breakfast at the table with a unique Okinawan vermilion colour, and when it gets too hot, take a dip in the pool. When it cools down again, they can enjoy leisurely time, reading a book or having a drink at the dining table. In the evening, they can enjoy the beautiful sunset reflected on the sea and then take a bath when it gets chilly. They can cook in the kitchen and enjoy dinner in the dining room. When they start to feel sleepy, they can go to the bedroom at the back for a good night’s rest. In Okinawa, this way of spending time is called ‘Tē-Gē’ (dialect meaning ‘easygoing’), which is also the creative concept behind Yawn Yard.

Such a space where guests can spend a ‘Tē-Gē’ time as they move between indoors and outdoors seamlessly is made possible by the inverted V-shaped unit, which combines two standardised plans. Whereas villas usually have the same shape repeatedly, the innovation of this project is to propose a rational way to form a group of villas with distinct appearances. In this efficient design method, the openings of the V-shape and its positions are adjusted according to the direction of the sea view and the site shape. By arranging these units differently and covering them with uniquely shaped large roofs, a slightly different village-like appearance is realised.

The premises are divided into two areas: one is a long, narrow site on the sea side, with an undulating topography; the other is a trapezoidal site, with a difference in elevation. The villa units are functionally positioned along the site so that guests can stay in privacy without worrying about the noise of adjoining guests. We also provided a semi-outdoor space with the best view in the opening of the V that serves as a living area with a dining table and a small swimming pool. The two parts of each unit respectively function as a bedroom with the kitchen and the bedroom with the bathroom facing the sea. The simple and functional plan was achieved by seamlessly connecting the kitchen, dining table, bathroom, and swimming pool.

We regarded these buildings as a new Okinawan villa capitalizing on enjoying semi-outdoor living, and original Ryukyu furniture has been created with local artists to accompany it. Made in Okinawa production is intended to be a place where guests could experience the culture of the local Okinawan community, as well as realising the ecology of local production for local consumption.