Project name: Né (Niigata Re-Find)
Location: 180 Ishiki, Shibata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Client / Operator: Ahead of the Curve Inc.
Architecture: Kenta Fukunishi Architecture Office
Construction: Kumagai Construction
Site area: approx. 1.06 hectares (3,200 tsubo); former Honma family residence
Structure: 105 wooden friction piles, no concrete; load-bearing earthen walls of on-site soil, fermented over six months
Key materials: Shibata cedar (flooring, 2,220 pieces; smoked, iron-treated joinery); kawara roof tiles in Niigata clay by Marusan Yasuda; snow beech furniture; plaster-embedded lighting
Culinary direction: Head chef Makoto Fuse — nightly thirteen-course dinner
Capacity: one group per day (2–4 guests); 8-seat restaurant counter
Opening: October 2025
Photography: Hiroki Kawata
Award: Architizer A+Awards 2026 — Architecture + Environment — Popular Choice Winner
Website: ne-auberge.jp