Doshi Retreat: A Spiritual Landscape on the Vitra Campus

The Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, has a new space for contemplation, listening, and slowing down. Balkrishna Doshi, an Indian master architect and the 2018 Pritzker Prize Laureate, designed the Doshi Retreat with his niece Khushnu Panthaki Hoof and her husband, Sönke Hoof. It is the architect’s first work outside India and the last work he completed before his death in 2023.

The retreat was commissioned as a space for peace and reflection inspired by Indian spirituality. In the context of the Vitra Campus – where iconic architectural works by Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Herzog & de Meuron, Álvaro Siza, and Tadao Ando stand side by side – the Doshi Retreat represents a new chapter in the evolution of the site from an industrial hub to a public cultural precinct.

A meditative path of ascent

Doshi and his team drew on the spiritual philosophy of Kundalini, the latent energy at the base of the spine whose awakening and ascent through the chakras is seen as central to spiritual transformation. The architecture translates this ascent as a spatial sequence that guides visitors toward awareness.

The creative process grew out of a dream Doshi had of two intertwined cobras. This image inspired the sinuous pathway, which, like exploring the depths of the subconscious, descends below the ground.

The final destination is a circular contemplation chamber that houses a gong, two semicircular stone benches, and a slender ring of rainwater at the base. Natural light filters in from an overhead aperture onto a hand-hammered brass mandala from India, producing shimmering golden reflections.

Soundscapes and material realms

Sound, used as an architectural element, is fundamental to the project. Incorporated into recesses in the floor, a sophisticated audio system emits gong and flute sounds that reverberate along the walls, transforming the project into a sensory resonance chamber.

«It is sound – resonating through the visitor’s body – that erases the boundary between self and structure,» says Khushnu Panthaki Hoof. «The building reflects the sound back toward you, transforming both the journey and the chamber into resonant instruments.»

The materials amplify this experience. The retreat is made from forged and shaped XCarb® steel, a low-carbon alloy made largely from recycled scrap material and manufactured using renewable energy. With time, the material develops a warm, natural patina that reacts to light and humidity, creating a changing, living surface. The sinuous walls lead visitors along a route of curving, shifting perspectives, evoking the idea of an inner journey.

The Doshi Retreat was conceived as a spiritual and sensory experience, a place for introspection where sound, materials, and light merge into a unique perceptual harmony.

>>> Discover Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show at the Vitra Design Museum, open through February 15, 2026.