SEMBA designs and constructs an ethical glamping resort, NEMU Forest Villa, using shipping containers
SEMBA Corporation, a sptial design company headquartered in Japan, designed and constructed the NEMU Forest Villa, which opened on April 21st within NEMU RESORT situated inside Ise-Shima National Park, operated by Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. and its affiliated company, Ise-Shima Resort Management Co., Ltd. The design and construction incorporate SEMBA’s Ethical Design*1 and pay special attention to the people, local communities and natural environment.
1. Adopting shipping containers for the villa structure
With technical support from DEVELOP Co., Ltd., a CSV (Creating Shared Value) company well known for its Rescue Hotel Series, Semba proposed a new type of glamping facility that uses shipping containers.
- By taking advantage of the shipping container’s mobility, reusability, and ease of expansion and alteration, it enables to control the amount of waste for future renovations.
- Reduced waste in the construction site because shipping containers are off-site factory products.
- Shortened construction period to one-third of that for conventional hotel construction.
２. Environmental-friendly Design
● Utilizing existing ground
We developed and implemented a plan to avoid purchasing new soil and disposing of surplus excavated soil by only excavating and filling the existing soil to form an undulating landscape. The treated water from the septic tanks and rainwater were discharged to the natural valleys around the site’s perimeter. We prevented water pollution of oceans and rivers by not discharging them directly from the site and contributed to cultivating the local water source.
● Planting trees and laying turf
Since the site was bare land without vegetation, we planted a total of 781 new plants, 112 tall trees (over 3m tall), 189 mid-height trees (over 1.5m tall), and 480 shrubs, including other ground-cover plants and turf to contribute to the preservation of the area’s ecosystem.
● Application of environmental-friendly construction materials (Ethical Materials*2)
➀Using natural wood for the terrace decking, which is reusable and does not emit toxic substances when disposed.
➁Finishing the wall and ceiling with wallcoverings made of recycled eggshells.
➂Selecting VOC-free plaster material made from natural fibre (such as silk or cellulose fibre) for the headboard wall panel.
➃Redycing 0.66 liters/m2 of petroleum products, by using artificial leather, which has 30% of its material derived from plants, partly for the fabric.
３. About NEMU Forest Villa
NEMU Forest Villa is a lodging facility that features “a private space in harmony with the quiet presence of nature” inside NEMU RESORT, an extensive resort complex that spreads across nearly half of the Osaki peninsula overlooking the Ago bay. Eight villas are spaciously arranged in the vast 10,000 m2 plot. Each villa is designed as an open space, where the interior, outdoor terrace, and garden are linked seamlessly. Visitors can relish a relaxing time surrounded by the majestic view of the lush Ise-Shima National Park and its starry skies.
Operated by: Ise-Shima Resort Management Co., Ltd.
Address: 2692-3 Hazako, Hamajima-Cho, Shima-shi, Mie, Japan (inside Ise-Shima National Park)
Website：https://www.nemuresort.com/en/
Semba’s Zero Division of Ethical Design Unit, the leader of this project, is working to discover new business models that consider the future environment. Semba will continue to promote its ethical activities to achieve its “future-friendly space” mission.
*1: About Ethical Design and Ethical Thinking
Semba has been exerting ethical activities since 2021. It promots the idea of Semba Ethical Design Thinking, where everyone at Semba is encouraged to start by “Rethinking” all of the space design processes from the perspective of compassion towards people, local communities, and the global environment. From 2022, it set “Creating Future Friendly spaces” as its corporate mission.
*2:Ethical Material
Semba has developed a selection criteria of environmental friendly materials and collected them named Ethical Material. It has summarized them from our original 5 persprctives and established a gallery in our head office.
