Tag: retreat | ArchDaily

House on the Reservoir / Obranegra Arquitectos

Valentina Díaz — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Built on a small peninsula within the La Fe reservoir, 30 km east of Medellín, the project is set in a mountainous landscape with highly variable weather conditions, where fog, intense sunlight, heavy rain, and cold nights can occur within the same day. This shifting condition defines both the site and the design decisions.

Renovation of the Mountain House AC. / DARP - De Arquitectura y Paisaje

Valentina Díaz — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0000

The project is conceived as a reflection on the transformation of a prefabricated wooden house, built more than two decades ago, whose original condition of temporary occupation evolves into a model of permanent living. This transition implies not only a functional update but a comprehensive reinterpretation of its spatial, constructive, and environmental logics, in accordance with new forms of contemporary living.

Capsule Retreat: Building Through Process in Lebanon’s Mountain Landscape

Daniela Andino — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Set within the mountainous landscape of Zabbougha, Lebanon, Capsule Retreat by EAST Architecture Studio is shaped through the process of its making. The project unfolds through material decisions, on-site adjustments, and evolving conditions, allowing construction itself to guide its spatial logic.

6 Unbuilt Retreats Exploring Hospitality Through Landscape and Refuge

Nour Fakharany — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Spaces of retreat continue to offer fertile ground for unbuilt exploration, revealing how architecture can support rest, reflection, and immersion in nature amid shifting environmental and cultural conditions. In this Unbuilt edition, submitted by the ArchDaily community, the selected projects assemble a diverse range of proposals that reconsider hospitality through the lens of refuge. These works position accommodation not as spectacle or excess, but as spatial frameworks shaped by landscape, climate, material restraint, and shared experience.

From Desert to Forest: 8 Unbuilt Houses Designed as Contemporary Retreats

Nour Fakharany — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Residential architecture remains one of the most active fields for unbuilt architectural exploration, offering a lens through which architects rethink how domestic space can respond to landscape, climate, and contemporary patterns of living. In this Unbuilt edition, submitted by the ArchDaily community, the selected proposals bring together a range of residential projects that engage with houses, villas, and retreats as sites of withdrawal, mediation, and everyday inhabitation. Rather than treating the home as a fixed or isolated object, these projects approach it as a spatial framework that negotiates exposure, privacy, and connection to place.

Howard Waterfall Retreat Competition: Buildner’s Winners Explore Multigenerational Living and Topography

Rene Submissions — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Buildner has announced the results of the Howard Waterfall Retreat architecture competition, an international design challenge developed in close collaboration with the Howard Family Trust. The competition invited architects and designers to propose a multi-generational family retreat set within a privately owned, forested landscape in Northwestern Pennsylvania, centered on the dramatic presence of Howard Falls and the surrounding gorge.

Where Every Centimeter Counts: How Tiny Bathrooms Inform Spatial Design

Kiana Buchberger — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Are living spaces getting smaller? As cities densify and the global population continues its steady migration toward urban centers—projected to reach around 70% by 2050—domestic space is becoming increasingly compressed. Rising land prices, high construction costs, and a surge in single-person households push developers toward smaller units and tighter floor plans. At the same time, cultural shifts toward resource efficiency and minimal living support this move. Shrinking living spaces require fewer materials, consume less energy, and encourage people to live closer to their means.

Wellness by the Vez: Buildner Reveals the SPA Competition Winners

Rene Submissions — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Buildner has announced the results of its Portugal Vez River SPA international competition.

From Japan to Saudi Arabia: 8 Unbuilt Hospitality Projects Redefining the Future of Hotels and Resorts

Nour Fakharany — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

In contemporary architecture, hotel design is no longer defined solely by luxury and accommodation. Instead, it is becoming a platform to explore questions of identity, ecology, and cultural meaning. Beyond providing rooms and amenities, hotels today aim to create immersive experiences that connect travelers to local traditions, landscapes, and communities. In this curated selection of unbuilt hospitality projects, submitted by the ArchDaily community, speculative and competition-winning proposals offer a glimpse into the future of hospitality, where sustainability and storytelling are as central as comfort and style.

Courtyardism: A Vision for a More Balanced Urban Future in the Greater Bay Area by Wang Weijen Architecture

Jonathan Yeung — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Situated in one of the fastest-developing regions over the past decade—the southern part of China, including Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area—urban growth has been driven by an overwhelming wave of commercial ambition. Projects here are often designed for maximum density, height, and efficiency, resulting in developments of enormous scale that can easily span several acres. Prioritizing transit-oriented development, these complexes frequently take the form of sprawling malls built directly above major transportation hubs. Designed to disorient and prolong foot traffic to encourage economic activities, these mega-structures have become commonplace in cities like Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Canada’s Wilderness Retreats: Exploring The Nation's Tradition of Nature-Bound Cabins

Moises Carrasco — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 04:00:00 +0000

In Canada, the tradition of owning a secondary home in the countryside is a deeply rooted aspect of the national culture. In Ontario and parts of the Maritimes, these nature-surrounded secondary homes are often called "cottages". In British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, the term "cabin" is more common, while in Quebec, they are known as "chalets." Regardless of what they are called, these rural retreats offer Canadians an escape from urban life, a place to gather with friends and family, reconnect with nature and enjoy outdoor activities throughout the year.

Morroplancho House / Capa Arquitectura

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 06:00:00 +0000

The profile of this house outlines the mountains of the landscape that surround it. Peaks of different heights delimit the spaces inside.

Brazilian Houses: 10 Huts to Enjoy Nature

Camilla Ghisleni — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 05:00:00 +0000

“The first man wanted to build a shelter that would cover him without burying him.” With some logs found in the forest, he built a square covered with straw so that neither the sun nor the rain could enter, and thus, he felt safe. The description above refers, in a simplified way, to the theory of the primitive hut developed by the abbot Marc-Antoine Laugier in the mid-1700s. The small rustic hut described by Laugier is a model upon which he imagined the magnificence of architecture. It provides an important reference point for all speculation about construction foundations and represents the first architectural idea."

Spaces to Relax: Spas, Saunas, Baths and Pools

Giovana Martino — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Big cities and the troubled routine of urban life increasingly reveal the need for moments of relaxation aimed at physical and mental health. This concern has become more evident after the long quarantine periods of the Covid-19 pandemic, when disconnecting from routine became even more difficult. Thus, in recent years, more and more people have been looking for activities and places that provide this rest.

Architecture and Nature Come Together in Secluded Earth Chapel

Dima Stouhi — Sat, 19 Dec 2020 05:00:00 +0000

Tucked beneath the dense trees of Al-Ozer Forest in Mount Lebanon, Byblos-based architects and visual artists of JPAG Atelier created a secluded retreat away from humans and the chaos of the urban life. The Earth Chapel is a unique sanctuary that lets its visitors experience both the simplicity of the architecture and the richness of the surrounding landscapes, all at once.

Conceptual Wall of Logs by Christophe Benichou

Christele Harrouk — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Christophe Benichou creates “The Wall of Logs”, a new conceptual getaway, a natural solid wall with perforated interiors. The project comes as a counterpoint experience for his previous endeavor Sesame, a solitary monolith, a residence in the open desert.

Jendretzki Proposes Off-Grid Eco Retreat for New York's Rat Island

Eric Baldwin — Wed, 29 May 2019 13:00:00 +0000

New York-based Jendretzki Design has created a proposal for an off-grid eco resort for New York’s Rat Island. Sited on the only isle off the city's Bronx borough that's privately owned, the project was made as prefab gabled cabins with large glass facades overlooking the ocean. Designed with zero-energy buildings, the site would run on solar and wind power with rainwater collection systems.

A Space of Contemplation and Sanctuary by WOJR

Dima Stouhi — Sat, 23 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Architecture, just like art, has the ability to detach the individual and provoke a sense of intrigue and inspiration. Some buildings leave a greater mark, especially if the project or the site it is built on has a story of its own.