Location: Nakijin, Okinawa, Japan

Design Team: Fuu

Area: amahaji 131.49 m²; yanbaru 118.19 m²; total 249.68 m²

Completion: March 2025

Photography: Koichi Torimura

Design Features: AO NAKIJIN is a pair of private resort villas on elevated ground in Nakijin, northern Okinawa. Facing both dense forest and the distant sea, the project does not reduce the setting to a single panoramic window. Fuu instead begins with the amahaji, the sheltered space beneath the eaves of a traditional Okinawan house, and uses deep overhangs to mediate sun, squalls, wind and occupation.

Both villas are two-storey reinforced-concrete structures. A subtle fold in each roof balances structural stiffness, generous overhangs and the ceiling height of the upper floor. The shaded edge is not an added veranda but an extension of the living space: lounge, dining area, pool and terrace are arranged along one open interface where the subtropical climate is filtered into shade and moving air.

Large openings and charred-timber sloping ceilings create a continuous dark field inside. Views pass over low furniture and horizontal thresholds, through the eaves, and toward trees and sea. Concrete, dark timber, water and daylight establish a restrained material order. The two villas differ in plan and orientation, yet both unfold from interior to sheltered exterior and then to the wider landscape.

Outdoor dining and pools sit beneath the roof so the terraces remain usable through intense sun and sudden rain. Bathroom openings isolate sky, canopy and sunset at a more intimate scale. Familiar resort functions—swimming, barbecuing and viewing—are therefore joined as one spatial sequence rather than scattered as separate amenities.

Part of the foundation is also used for rainwater storage. Collected water is filtered for domestic and bath use, with emergency supply capacity; published project information states a maximum storage volume of about fifteen tonnes. Together with the eaves, the system answers Okinawa's rainfall and water conditions. AO NAKIJIN translates local climatic knowledge, semi-outdoor living and infrastructure into a contemporary resort architecture.

Design Team: Fuu is a first-class architectural practice with bases in Tokyo and Okinawa, working across resort planning, architecture, interiors, landscape and operational amenities. AO NAKIJIN was led by Yuki Watanabe for architectural design and supervision, with Hiromi Watanabe leading the interiors. Tetsuya Tanaka Structural Engineers provided structural design, Maeda Equipment Design Office handled building services, and Kamome Trust constructed the project. The practice treats local climate and culture as active design resources rather than decorative references.