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THE MINDFULL METAMORPHOSIS

How can a building quietly embed a sequence of small architectural moments that elevate the visitor into a meditative state of mind?
When we are mindful, the boundary between body and space becomes blurred. Zen Buddhists describe true mindfulness as the condition in which body and space are separate yet connected at the same time.

The project aims to guide the visitor through a series of mindful rituals, each contributing to a gradual transformation of awareness — an architectural promenade of moments and opportunities for contemplation. The visitor enters the building as one person and leaves as another: a mindful metamorphosis.

Architecture that stimulates the senses without creating confusion can calm the mind. The building is therefore formally simple and organized as a promenade, where each transition slows the visitor down through attention and awareness. Mysterious spaces support psychological well-being. This is achieved through contrasts of light and shadow, controlled perspectives, and moments of concealment. Views through mist, partial glimpses, and diffused light invite the imagination to complete the image and deepen the experience.

As the visitor moves through the building, the surrounding Swiss landscape is gradually revealed. Contact with local nature is maintained through the use of its basic materials — stone and wood — grounding the architecture in its place. The inner structure is built of local quartzite, appearing as if it has emerged directly from the ground. The stone, long used in Swiss construction, is sourced from the Soglio Quartzite Quarry, 45 km from St. Moritz.

As Goethe wrote: “Once through the forest, alone I went; To seek for nothing, my thoughts were bent.” Time spent among trees lowers blood pressure and reduces cortisol, a benefit of terpenes — the aromatic oils secreted by trees. The surrounding pine forest provides the perfect setting for such calm, and the outer structure is built from locally sourced pine. Inspired by the structure of traditional Chinese pagodas, the building rises from the ground as a solid mass of stone, connecting earth and sky. Here, rammed earth is replaced by local quartzite, anchoring the building in the Swiss geology. Where the stone walls end, the visitor’s gaze continues upward toward the mountains and the sky. The simple roof is a reinterpretation of the traditional Swiss pitched roof, opening generously to the landscape and the horizon beyond.

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_{Typology: Architecture
Client: Competition
Program: Spa
Location: St. Moritz, Switzerland
Year: 2021
Status: Proposal}