Architecture is the main protagonist at Shishi-Iwa House. The SSH concept draws deeply on a simple premise: architecture has the power to spark intellectual creativity, elevate life quality, boost wellbeing – and in short, make you happy.

Shigeru Ban, the acclaimed Japanese architect and Pritzker Prize Laureate, designed the first SSH retreat: an undulating timber structure that winds organically through the forests of Karuizawa. The two-storey building evokes a jigsaw puzzle, pieced together from a prefabricated module system of 37 wooden A-frames and innovative PHP panels (plywood filled with paper honeycomb).

Its curvilinear form enables a spacious and seamless flow of interior spaces, including 11 guestrooms, a Grand Room, The Library and Reception, plus a sweep of terrace overlooking the surrounding trees. The end result? A meditative forest haven of clean spaces, organic lines and natural materials – a place designed to stimulate, inspire and gently nudge people together in an otherwise fast-paced digital age.