is a villa designed to provide maximum protection from visual intrusion while providing occupants with a sense of oneness with the sea and the forest. The site is like a peninsula, surrounded as it is on three sides by cliffs. It descends gradually to the sea. A wall-like structure stands along the spine of the site. The wall shuts out views in one direction. Two levels of interior spaces are provided in the opposite direction, where privacy is assured. From there, a terrace is cantilevered out into the forest. The house seems like a one-story structure as one approaches it, but inside, one discovers there is a lower floor affording a grand view of the sea. Although the spaces are diverse–there are Western-style rooms with a teak or walnut finish and Japanese-style rooms with walls of cedar –they all have a battened ceiling.

Photo: Nakagawa Nobuaki