Mio Path of Water Dam olish uyi by Ke Chen, Mengxi Xu and Jiahua Xu

Mio Path of Water Dam olish uyi by Ke Chen, Mengxi Xu and Jiahua Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award Bronza Mukofoti in Arxitektura, Bino va Inshoot Dizayni Competition Category.

BronzaArxitektura· 2026

Mio Path of Water Dam olish uyi

by Ke Chen, Mengxi Xu and Jiahua Xu

Client: Not A Hotel

A' Design Award Bronza Mukofoti Winner in Arxitektura Category

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The Design

About Mio Path of Water Dam olish uyi

Mio Path of Water — Yaponiyaning Yakushima orolidagi yomg'irli sohil iqlimi uchun mo'ljallab loyihalangan dam olish uyidir. Mehmonlar usti yopiq kirish qismidan o'tib, quruq yomg'ir ayvonchasi orqali okeanga qaragan yashash va ovqatlanish markaziga kiradilar. Uchta yotoqxona bo'limi tinch xonalar sifatida alohida joylashgan bo'lib, har birida shaxsiy hammom mavjud, shuning uchun guruhlar shaxsiy hayot daxlsizligini yo'qotmasdan uydan birgalikda foydalanishlari mumkin. Spa zonasi sauna, sovuq suvli hovuz, vanna va salqinlash terrasasidan iborat oddiy aylanma tartibda joylashgan. Konstruksiya po'latni ochiq ko'rinishdagi og'ir yog'och tom bilan birlashtiradi, kuydirilgan sadr yog'ochidan qoplama esa fasadni himoya qiladi.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Bronza Mukofoti

Mio Path of Water Dam olish uyi A' Design Award Bronza Mukofotining g‘olibi bo‘lib, bu ijodkorlik, zukkolik va topqirlik bilan ajralib turuvchi a’lo dizaynlarga beriladigan o‘ta nufuzli e’tirofdir. Bronza g‘oliblari o‘z dizaynerlarining keng tajribasi, tasavvuri va topqirligini tasdiqlovchi juda mohir va hayratlanarli darajada ijodiy buyumlardir. Mio Path of Water Dam olish uyi yuqori qadrlanadigan, hayrat bilan qaraladigan va suyukli, diqqatga sazovor darajada kasbiy va innovatsion buyum bo‘lishi kutiladi. A' Design Award Bronza Mukofotini qo‘lga kiritgan ushbu dizayn san’at, fan, dizayn va texnologiyadagi eng yaxshi amaliyotlarni o‘zida mujassam etadi va tafsilotlarga e’tibori bilan a’lodir. Mio Path of Water Dam olish uyi ehtiyojlarni go‘zal qondiradi, istaklarga tegadi, tuyg‘ularni maftun etadi va qiziqishni jalb qiladi.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: 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.
Dimensions & Packaging: 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
Production Technology: 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 Challenge: 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.
Research: 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.
Inspiration: "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.
Project Duration: 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.
Operation Flow: 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.
Patents: Copyrights belong to Ke Chen, Mengxi Xu, Jiahua Xu, 2026.
No patents filed.
No trademarks registered.
Team Members: Ke Chen
Mengxi Xu
Jiahua Xu
Image Credits: 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.