Earthboat V1: The Nomadic Timber Retreat Reviving Japan’s Forgotten Leisure Landscapes
In a serene corner of rural Japan, a remarkable transformation is unfolding—one that reimagines our relationship with space, nature, and the forgotten realms of post-bubble leisure culture. PAN-PROJECTS, a design studio based in London and Tokyo, celebrated for its elegantly restrained interventions and architectural diplomacy, is at the forefront of this movement. Their latest endeavour, Earthboat V1, is a powerful prototype: a compact, mobile cabin crafted entirely from Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), designed to “float” gracefully above the land it embraces.
The Earthboat transcends nostalgia for countryside glamping; it embodies a thoughtful act of architectural reclamation. Once, Japan’s economic boom filled the countryside with leisure attractions like golf resorts, ski fields, and fishing ponds. Today, many of these sites lie dormant, echoes of a hopeful past. Earthboat V1 gently interacts with these spaces with its humble 20.5 square meter footprint. It eschews traditional foundations, resting lightly on the terrain, preserving the landscape while inviting a refreshing temporary habitation.
At first glance, the cabin's silhouette is strikingly modernist—a beautifully balanced architectural haiku in timber. A refined yet functional layout features a sauna, modular storage, and panoramic views that dissolve the boundaries between the indoor and outdoor worlds. The prefabricated design enhances assembly and ensures the unit can be relocated, minimizing environmental impact and adapting to evolving needs or seasonal contexts.
The concept remains dynamic, with around sixty Earthboat units now distributed across seven sites in Japan. This architecture moves—responsive to the land, memories, and utility. Each deployment signifies an act of regeneration—a fleeting reanimation of neglected spaces, sidestepping conventional development's permanence (and often abandonment).
The true innovation lies in its material intelligence. In a culture where CLT tends to be reserved for larger structures, Earthboat V1 recalibrates this scale, marrying high-performance, sustainable timber technology with a human-centred, emotionally resonant format—a quiet revolution in Japanese architecture.
As both a retreat and a powerful idea, Earthboat V1 exemplifies the pinnacle of hospitality architecture: providing shelter and offering a new lens through which to experience a place. It invites us to explore how to inhabit the in-between—not as owners or consumers but as thoughtful stewards of space and time.
ABOUT PAN_PROJECTS
PAN- PROJECTS is a London-based architectural design studio co-founded in 2017 by Japanese architects Yuriko Yagi and Kazumasa Takada. The studio engages in architecture, interior, installation, product, and exhibition design through multidisciplinary collaborations.
Founding Partners:
Yuriko Yagi, M.Arch, Arkitekt MAA: Yagi earned her Bachelor and Master of Architecture Design degrees from Kyoto Institute of Technology in 2014 and 2017, respectively.
Kazumasa Takada, M.Arch, ARB/RIBA: Takada completed his Bachelor of Architecture at Waseda University in 2015 and obtained a Master of Arts in Architecture from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 2017.
Left: Yuriko Yagi
Co-founder, PAN- PROJECTS | Arkitekt MAA
Right: Kazumasa Takada
Co-founder, PAN- PROJECTS | Architect ARB/RIBA
PAN- PROJECTS has been recognized in the architectural community, including being longlisted for the Emerging Architecture Studio of the Year and Large Retail Interior Design categories at the 2021 Dezeen Awards.