MIZU NO IE - Izu Diving Retreat
MIZU NO IE - IZU DIVING RETREAT
NASCA
ARCHITECTS
NASCA
LEAD ARCHITECTS
Nobuaki Furuya
LEAD TEAM
Hiroyuki Kano, Taiga Kitora
ENGINEERING & CONSULTING > LIGHTING
Modulex
ENGINEERING & CONSULTING > STRUCTURAL
Ryotaro Sakata Structural Engineers
ENGINEERING & CONSULTING > MEP
Setsubikeikaku
PHOTOGRAPHS
Satoshi Asakawa
AREA
293 m²
YEAR
2024
LOCATION
Ito, Japan
CATEGORY
Sports Architecture
English description provided by the architects.
People are born naked, and they are clad in garments, houses, cities, and nature.
The site where untouched nature has been carefully preserved is located within Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, in a corner of the Izu Highlands overlooking Mount Omuro.
We aim to create a place where visitors can release their five senses and are clad in water, in the air of the site, in the surrounding greenery, in the climate of the land, so that mind and body are directly embraced by the environment.
To harmonize with the abundant natural setting of the national park, the Structure is composed of wood and concrete, materials with a strong affinity to nature.
Despite site constraints̶including limited area and solid bedrock, we had to accommodate not only a 25-meter swimming pool but also a diving pool with a depth of 8 meters.
By consolidating both pools on the second floor, we achieved an efficient layout while minimizing excavation caused by the diving pool. To support the 400 tons of water contained in the pools, the WRC structure is adopted from the foundation up to the second floor.
On the other hand, the roof is made of timber. RC colonnades are arranged along the 25-meter pool, and beams span in the transverse direction, such as a balancing toy "yajirobe," thereby achieving a 25-meter-wide opening with column-free space on the southern facade of the pool.
The remaining exterior walls are clad in overlapping cedar boards with equally spaced gaps, and they function as an environmental device that admits light and wind while shielding views from outside.
By designing an infinity edge on the side of the large opening with column-free space, this pool draws in the surrounding untouched nature and successfully offers a swimming experience immersed in the forest.
