Horai Onsen Bath House

Abstract

This bathhouse is located on the narrow ledge of a steep site within the property of Horai, a prestigious and well-known traditional Japanese hotel. The ledge is so narrow that it seems almost impossible to build anything there. Kuma took advantage of this condition, however, and derived the architecture of the bathhouse from it. Due to the narrow site, the structure is situated close to its surroundings, bordering on the rising cliff on one side and the precipice on the other. The project accordingly evolved along an extruded plan with activities arranged in a linear fashion.