Mio Path of Water Vakanzenhaus vum Ke Chen, Mengxi Xu and Jiahua Xu

D'Wierk Mio Path of Water Vakanzenhaus vum Designer Ke Chen, Mengxi Xu and Jiahua Xu ass en héich geschätzten Gewënner vum prestigiéisen 2026 A' Design Award an Bronze an der Wettbewerbskategorie Architektur, Gebai an Strukturdesign.

BronzeArchitektur· 2026

Mio Path of Water Vakanzenhaus

vum Ke Chen, Mengxi Xu and Jiahua Xu

Client: Not A Hotel

A' Design Award an Bronze Gewënner an der Kategorie Architektur

5,950

Verifizéierte Präisgewënner

Präisstatus fir #180563 verifizéieren

Kuckt beim A' Design Award Pressemëtteelung Award Badge

Faarwen

Den Design

Iwwer Mio Path of Water Vakanzenhaus

Mio Path of Water ass e Vakanzenhaus, dat fir dat verreent Küsteklima vu Yakushima a Japan entworf gouf. D'Gäscht kommen ënner engem iwwerdaachten Entrée un a passéieren duerch eng dréche Reepavillon-Zone an e Wunn- an Iesskär, deen op den Ozean geriicht ass. Dräi Schlofzëmmer-Suitte verzweege sech als roueg Raim, all mat engem private Buedzëmmer, sou datt Gruppen d'Haus deele kënnen, ouni hir Privatsphär ze verléieren. E Spa follegt engem einfache Circuit vu Sauna, Kaltwaasserbecken, Bued an Ofkillungsterrass. D'Struktur kombinéiert Stol mat engem siichtbaren, massiven Holzdaach, a verkuelte Zederveredelung schützt d'Fassad.

D'Unerkennung

Iwwer den A' Design Award an Bronze

Mio Path of Water Vakanzenhaus ass e Gewënner vum A' Design Award an Bronze, enger héich prestigiéiser Unerkennung, déi un erausragend Designe vergi gëtt, déi sech duerch Kreativitéit, Erfindungsgab a Schlauheet ausgezeechnen. Bronze-Gewënner si voll Fäegkeet a opfälleg kreativ Wierker, déi déi grouss Erfahrung, d'Fantasie an d'Ressourceréichtum vun hire Designer bestätegen. Et gëtt erwaart, datt Mio Path of Water Vakanzenhaus e héich geschätzt, bewonnert a beléifte Géigestand ass, bemierkenswäert professionell an innovativ. Dëst mam Bronze ausgezeechent Design integréiert déi beschte Praktike vun der Konscht, der Wëssenschaft, vum Design an der Technologie an zeechent sech duerch Opmierksamkeet fir Detailer aus. Mio Path of Water Vakanzenhaus erfëllt Bedierfnesser exzellent, beréiert Wënsch, bezauberet Gefiller an erweckt Neigierecht.

Hannert dem Design

Press Kit

Credits, Teammemberen an technesch Detailer vum Designer zur Verfügung gestallt.

Eenzegaarteg Eegeschaften: The project is on Yakushima’s maritime edge, where mist, downpour, and slow runoff are daily facts, the house is organized from the rooms outward. Each suite is a calibrated “channel” of water-as-experience: the shared areas stay quiet and supportive. Only after these three acts are set does the living space frame its context: sea at distance, pool nearby—two waters held on one calm line. The primary structure material of the house is steel—precise, slender, and resilient—so the rooms read cleanly. Only the living space departs from that language: here an exposed heavy-timber roof lifts the volume and warms it. The result is a house that makes weather into ambience, routine, and memory.
Dimensiounen & Verpackung: Height 9000 mm; Total floor area 298 sqm; construction area (incl. terraces) 586 sqm. Program: L/D, kitchen; 3 bedrooms each with 2× semi-double beds 1,200×1,950 mm + ensuite WC & shower. Spa: changing, sauna, cold plunge, bath, shower + adjacent cooling terrace. Pool depth 1,200 mm. Covered parking 2 bays. Outdoor equipment storage shed 70 sqm.
Tags: Yakushima, hospitality villa, wet-climate design, rain porch, sauna loop, indoor-outdoor living, charred cedar façade, ocean-view courtyard, modular arcade, minimalist timber architecture
Produktiounstechnologie: Designed through iterative massing + view studies in Rhino/Grasshopper, then coordinated for constructability and lifecycle cost. Adaptive-reuse strategy uses hybrid structure system of steel and heavy timber to maximize constructability. Facade system: Shou Sugi Ban (Yakisugi) cedar cladding rainscreen + low-iron glazed wall with concealed frames; modular standing seam metal roof for tolerance control. CG/diagrams produced via real-time rendering + AI/PS post-compositing.
Design Erausfuerderung: The hardest challenge was reconciling Yakushima’s extreme rain, salt wind, and humidity with an open, resort-like lifestyle without turning the house into a sealed “box.” Internally, the concept had to respect local craft traditions while still feeling contemporary. Externally, strict competition limits (height, area, parking, pool/spa program) forced tight stacking and efficient circulation. Limited site-specific data pushed us to validate decisions through climate mapping, precedent benchmarking, and repeated plan/section tests until performance and experience aligned.
Fuerschung: Applied site-response study. Objective: Yakushima villa for rain/humidity, privacy, ocean views. Method: fast plan/section iterations + guest-flow loop tests. Data/tools: climate/topo maps, precedents; Rhino/Grasshopper, AI implemented representation, render checks. Participants: designer + peer critiques. Result: rain-porch entry, bedroom pods, sauna-plunge-bath loop. Insight/impact: fewer conflicts, higher comfort; reusable wet-climate layout template.
Inspiratioun: "Mio" is a shallow water channel in Japanese: not a scene, a guide. The project adopts that ethic—draw clear paths and let climate do the rest. What Mio proposes is to let private rooms carry climate as character—morning mist, sudden shower, still flow—while a single timbered hall reads the site without theatrics. The result is a house that makes weather into ambience, routine, and memory.
Projetdauer: The project was a design package for initiated in September 2025 and completed in February 2026 as a hospitality villa proposal for Yakushima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, and subsequently prepared for submission to the A’ Design Award.
Operatiounsablaf: Guests arrive under the covered "porte-cochère" and enter a dry “rain porch” that transitions into the living/dining core facing the ocean. Bedrooms branch off like quiet nests, each with a private bath, so groups can share without stepping on each other’s rhythm. The spa is a simple loop: change - sauna - cold plunge - hot bath/shower - cool-down terrace, repeating as needed. Indoor and outdoor spaces slide into one another, letting the house work in sun, wind, and rain with minimal effort.
Patenten: Copyrights belong to Ke Chen, Mengxi Xu, Jiahua Xu, 2026.
No patents filed.
No trademarks registered.
Teammemberen: Ke Chen
Mengxi Xu
Jiahua Xu
Bildnoweis: Image #1: Creator (Design Team Lead) Jiahua Xu, Yakushima Villa Concept (NOT A HOTEL 2026), 2026.
Image #2: Creator (Design Team Lead) Jiahua Xu, Yakushima Villa Concept (NOT A HOTEL 2026), 2026.
Image #3: Creator (Design Team) Ke Chen, Yakushima Villa Concept (NOT A HOTEL 2026), 2026.
Image #4: Creator (Design Team) Mengxi Xu, Yakushima Villa Concept (NOT A HOTEL 2026), 2026.
Image #5: Creator (Design Team) Mengxi Xu, Yakushima Villa Concept (NOT A HOTEL 2026), 2026.