VALE DE MOSES MEDITATION CABINS

Vale de Moses, Portugal

  • Markets:

    HOSPITALITY ,

  • Services:

    ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

  • Client:

    Vale de Moses Yoga Retreat

Part of the landscape

  • Include:

    Cabin design

  • Area:

    30m²

  • Status:

    Design phase

ARGUMENT

The cabin emerges from the interior of the earth, like a pile of rocks that have always been part of the landscape, like a ruin of an ancient place with roots inside the history of the site, conceived not only to contemplate and admire the beautiful natural environment of which it is part of but also for the visitor’s introspection. Who will be immersed in the beauty and peace of the place?
The curved shape of the project alludes to infinity and to harmony, which encourages visitors to relax within an enclosure that allows their thoughts, like their gaze, to flow without barriers.

On the other hand, the curved shell that configures the exterior of the cabin captures the sounds of the environment (wind, animals, vegetation etc) and redirects them to whoever is inside. Thus transmitting a much more vivid and profound experience.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE CABIN

The materials with which the construction of the cabin is designed to give a feeling of austerity and of being in a natural or raw state so that the visitor’s attention does not find distraction in them and focuses on their inner self or on the natural environment that surrounds them.


The cabin design is based on directing the visitor’s attention to two focal points. In the first place, the external environment, which encourages visitors to contemplate, absorbing the energy that this beautiful landscape offers them and allowing them to externalize their emotions. Secondly, it seeks to allow visitors to have moments of introspection by focusing their gaze on the interior garden of the cabin. Which encourages an intimate activity, where inside a space with more controlled stimuli, the visitor is allowed to enter into deeper states of consciousness and relaxation.

 

FIRST CABIN CHOOSEN PLACE

The place chosen to locate the first cabin is the stone terrace. It is ideal not only for the ease of access and proximity to the other buildings but also because it offers exceptional views of the valley and allows to preserve some privacy due to the unevenness of the terrain and the slopes generated for the terrace, in addition to providing a stony environment that is compatible with the materiality of the cabin.

However, because the cabin only requires a small leveling for its construction, it could be located in different places on the property. For this purpose, it would be interesting to offer different environments or views that allow the user to live diverse experiences depending on the cabin that they choose. The appearance of the cabin blends very well with the rest of the landscape elements of the valley, in such a way that it seems to be part of it regardless of its location.

CONSTRUCTION AND SUSTAINABILITY

Before determining what the final design of the cabin would be, a construction system was chosen that would implement not only traditional and simple construction techniques but also a construction system that incorporated local materials that would make the project sustainable.

When choosing stone, wood, and concrete as building materials for the cabin, it was ensured that CO2 consumption was reduced, since these are materials that can be acquired locally and their implementation does not incur massive consumption of energy or water. Additionally, to supply water consumption in a self-sufficient way, it is proposed to collect the rainwater that falls on the interior garden of the cabin. Which would be filtered by the plants and by gravel filters and later would be pumped to the sink located in the interior cabinet. After being used, the gray water would be returned to the natural terrain.

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