Tatsuro SasakiRepresentative and Architect of Tatsuro Sasaki Architectural Design Office

Thanks to the Karuizawa Hoshino area, I am where I am today as an architect

I joined the Azuma Environmental & Architecture Research Institute through a professor at the university who had been my teacher, who was an architect and studied under Takamitsu Azuma. I joined the architectural design team for Hoshinoya Karuizawa, led by Rie Azuma. This was my first job as a working professional, and it was the beginning of my acquaintance with the Karuizawa Hoshino area.

In designing Hoshinoya Karuizawa, a method was adopted in which the buildings were arranged to fit the terrain in order to take advantage of Karuizawa's distinctive natural environment. As a newcomer, it was a privilege for me to draw lines and arrange furniture while keeping the landscape design in mind. It was nothing short of luxurious to be able to see the ideas take shape one after another on site. The experience I gained there is certainly being put to good use in the hotel I worked on after going independent, BEB5 Karuizawa.

What was the most memorable experience of "enjoying and learning about the forest" in the Karuizawa Hoshino area?

It's "BEB5 Karuizawa" itself.

When I was involved in the construction of Hoshinoya Karuizawa, I moved to Karuizawa for about a year and a half and was fascinated by the refreshing new greenery from spring to summer, the bright red leaves in autumn, and the fantastic fog and silvery white world of winter. I was born and raised in Wakkanai, Hokkaido, where snow is deep, but the winter in Karuizawa, where the forest spreads, is completely different. It's refreshing and pleasant. In designing BEB1 Karuizawa, I valued this moving experience.

How can we bring to life the comfort of being in the forest? This is a difficult theme for a facility that specializes in accommodation, but after much deliberation, we decided to actively draw in the surrounding nature by creating a courtyard.

We also put a lot of thought into the visual aspects. For example, the public space "TAMARIBA" is set up so that it surrounds the courtyard, making it a space where you can always feel close to the nature of the courtyard. Mirrors that reflect the trees on the walls are used to unify the space with the courtyard. We used designs evocative of birds and nuts for the furniture and lighting, used square timber throughout the hotel, including the corridors and guest room beds, and deliberately stuck to using wooden architecture, all because we wanted guests to experience the comfort of being in the forest.

The Karuizawa Hoshino Area is not finished once it is built

Over the past 20 years, I have been watching the changes in the Hoshino area. I know that there have been many discussions. What was clear was the awareness of the entire area. They are always thinking about connecting the facilities. They don't just develop the areas around the facilities, but for example, they will set up a walking path between "BEB5 Karuizawa" and "Tombo no Yu" so that people can feel nature. The whole area is connected and spreads with the same idea. It is constantly growing to make it more interesting. From the perspective of a creator, I would like to see more places like this all over Japan. There must be many other attractive places.

This is just my idea, but it would be fun if there was a school. Not an elementary school or a middle school, but a school where you could learn about the charms of the land of Karuizawa. In the Hoshino area, there are places to take a bath, stay, eat, and even hold wedding ceremonies. So why not have a place to learn? When I think about it, I naturally get excited.