Family get-togethers can be joyous occasions, but there comes a time when just about everyone present wishes they could retreat to a quiet place for a little alone time. Unfortunately, most vacation homes simply aren’t set up for that. They’re designed for all the togetherness you can handle, like it or not, and that often includes shared bedrooms and open loft sleeping spaces.

In Rankoshi, Japan, Tokyo-based architecture firm Florian Busch Architects has created a retreat that balances individual privacy with the companionship of large gatherings, giving everyone a chance to enjoy the peaceful seclusion of the forest. Designed to mimic the shape of a branch, “House in the Forest” acknowledges that solitude is good for the soul, especially when set within a beautiful natural environment. Feeling “disturbed” by the encroachment of suburbia driven by the nearby ski slopes of Niseko, the clients, a large family, wanted a place where they could enjoy a little peace and quiet. “Consequentially, the brief is not for a house but for a time in and with the forest,” say the architects. The roughly seven-acre property is almost completely wooded, cleared only in a narrow area to accommodate the new timber-framed flat-roof structure.

...