ThinkStay Mt. by osAmu Architects/Osamu Morishita Architect and Associates

We’ve created a third place on a small hill in front of the Cable railways Station, at an altitude of 760 meters. Mt. Rokkō is the range of mountains facing Kobe and Osaka, Japan. We’ve hidden a group of atelier cottages in the forest, where you can stay overnight, overlooking the city, surrounded by nature, and sharpen your sensibilities and stimulate your creativity. It was initiated when one of our clients told me about a guest house on Mt. Rokko. They’ve owned the “Sukiya” Villa, created by a famous master carpenter 80 years ago, which has been abandoned for about 30 years.

Mt. Rokko was once a Japanese representative summer resort, with many cultural facilities. But after the designation as a national park, new construction has been prohibited, culture slowly disappearing. Initially, we gave up taking over the property, but then COVID hit the world. Amid a pandemic, we considered how we can recreate future society by changing our lifestyles. We launched the project for the next generation, where foster creativity. To preserve the environment, we added several cabins composed with steel and polycarbonate by hand as share atelier on the steep bank surrounding the Sukiya.