Illuminated entrance with backlit acrylic panels, Villa Esterio, Kobu, Yamanashi Prefecture. Arch: Atsushi Kitagawara. The Zen-inspired garden of Villa Esterio .in Kobu, with its bare white walls, white gravel, and sculpted maple, chosen for the deep and intense red color of its leaves in the fall. This is intentionally the only source of color in the otherwise white complex of buildings and courtyards that comprise this wedding center. Architect Atsushi Kitagawara’s concept for this development, which includes a large chapel and numerous reception rooms, was what he calls “Maze and Sky.” Its location, Kobu city in Yamanashi prefecture, receives the most sunlight annually in Japan, and Kitagawara took .advantage of these natural conditions, devising spaces that fill with light. The clear skies and dry air intensify the whiteness of the enclosure, adding to the feeling of otherworldliness that the architect aimed to create. The high reflectivity of the facades register the variations .in the sunlight and sky, and they change appearance constantly. The buildings that make up this award-winning complex were designed as a group of “stars” .that together form a “constellation.” Villa Esterio itself is made up of a series of external passageways that form what seems to be an irrational maze, one that encourages visitors to surrender themselves to chance and sudden surprises—such as suddenly coming across this .late afternoon view of light and accented color.