The Doshi Retreat, on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, was imagined as a place where contemplation unfolds slowly. The architects began with an emotional memory, asking themselves what feeling the space should hold. Through many conversations, they realized it needed to be a journey, because a contemplative state is not entered, but arrived at.
The path is designed to gently disorient, allowing a deeper presence to emerge. As you walk, the space draws you in; suddenly, you find yourself in the earth, yet open to the sky above. A soft, continuous hum carries you toward an inner chamber, where a gong plays itself, its vibration echoing through your body. Here, under a circular roof hung on three cables, light spills quietly around the edges. It becomes a place to watch the sun move, to listen to rain, to sit alone or together.
Made from recycled X-Carb steel produced with renewable energy, the retreat embodies both material and emotional resonance: a space that resists definition, invites interpretation, and remains boldly free.
