A retreat centre organised around silence, practice and clear movement

Why the project was complex

A retreat centre is not a large private house and should not be organised like an ordinary hotel. It must support collective practice and quiet at the same time, while separating guest movement, service routes, technical functions and rest.

I developed the concept in close dialogue with the client, a practising Vedic teacher. The process reached 31 PDF iterations, reflecting the number of functional relationships that had to be resolved rather than a decorative search for form.

Functional programme

Basement: plant rooms, laundry, storage and service spaces.

Ground floor: entrance lobby, shared kitchen, dining for up to 25 people and the central meditation hall.

Upper floor: rooms for two, three and four guests, with shared bathrooms and showers. Four room layouts were developed for the four-person format so beds and circulation could respond to different positions in the building.

The quiet centre

The meditation hall forms the heart of the plan. It occupies the central part of the ground floor and rises through two storeys to a domed ceiling. Corridors converge on this space, giving the building a clear point of orientation.

In Vastu this centre is called the brahmasthan. Here it is not a symbolic square placed on a drawing; it is the main room of the project. Geometry, daylight, acoustics and structural freedom had to be considered together.

Guest rooms and shared areas were separated to reduce conflicts between rest, conversation and service activity. The hall was kept free of internal columns at concept level; structure, acoustics, accessibility, ventilation and fire safety remain subject to specialist design and local approval.

What was delivered

The concept album includes the functional programme, plans for all levels, sections, the daylight intent and a dedicated 1:100 drawing of the central hall. It was handed to the client as the basis for the next design stage.

Honest project status

The building has not yet been constructed. I present it as a completed concept, not as a realised project. The drawings establish the architectural intention; detailed engineering, approvals, construction and final performance remain future stages.