Doshi Retreat: A Haven on the Vitra Campus

 

“While the campus remains an industrial site, it has gradually transformed into a public park attracting some 400,000 visitors each year,” notes Rolf Fehlbaum, Chairman of Vitra. It is a place where architecture, design, nature, and culture converge: from pavilions by leading architects and the collections of the Vitra Design Museum, to gardens, restaurants, and shops. In recent years, the site’s evolution has taken on an ecological dimension, introducing ponds, woodlands, and meadows that restore the area’s natural biodiversity and soften its industrial footprint.

 

 

 

The Doshi Retreat brings a new layer of meaning to the campus: a sanctuary for peace and reflection. The idea emerged after Fehlbaum visited the Sun Temple of Modhera in India. When he later showed Doshi a photograph of a small shrine, the architect proposed creating a meditative space for the campus. From that initial spark grew a collaboration between Doshi, Khushnu, and Sönke Hoof — culminating in the pavilion’s fluid, harmonious form. It is Doshi’s first building outside India, and the final project he designed before his passing in 2023.

 

 

 

The structure unfolds as a sinuous, descending sequence of walls, resonating with the sounds of gongs and flutes. “This architecture was born from a dream Doshi had, in which two cobras intertwined,” recalls Khushnu Panthaki Hoof. That vision evolved into a story, then a drawing, and finally an invitation to embark on an inner journey. The path leads to a chamber of contemplation — a softly curved space featuring a rainwater basin, two stone benches, and a central gong. A partially open ceiling admits light, air, and rain, while a hand-beaten brass mandala, crafted in India, adorns the roof and casts shifting reflections across the interior.

 

The pavilion is constructed entirely from XCarb® steel, a low-carbon material made from recycled scrap and renewable energy, donated by ArcelorMittal. The forged and shaped walls will naturally patina over time, enhancing the structure's organic presence and the sense of discovery along the route.

 

 

Conceptually, the project draws on the Kundalini philosophy — a Sanskrit term meaning “coiled” or “spiraled” — symbolising the latent energy at the base of the spine. In yogic and tantric traditions, its awakening marks the beginning of inner transformation. At the Doshi Retreat, sound becomes the medium of awakening: diffused through an integrated audio system embedded in the ground, it follows visitors as they move, dissolving the boundary between body and building.

 

 

 

“It’s the sound that erases the distinction between person and structure. The building reflects it back to you, turning the path and the chamber into instruments of resonance”, says Khushnu Panthaki Hoof.

 

 

 

In the final years of his life, Doshi grew increasingly drawn to art, yet with this project, he returned to drawing — creating a work that weaves together spirituality, materiality, and perception. The Doshi Retreat resists definition: it is a place of solitude and contemplation, inviting visitors to sense the unseen and to let themselves be guided by disorientation toward discovery.