SANCTUM
Located within a forest clearing near Bezdonys, Lithuania, SANCTUM is a nature therapy retreat that explores how architecture can emerge from the logic of an existing landscape. Designed by Arches, the project combines accommodation, communal facilities, dining spaces, and activity areas within a woodland setting, creating an environment dedicated to wellbeing, reflection, and connection with nature.
The project is organized around a natural axis that became the primary generator of the architectural composition. Rather than imposing a new order on the site, the design draws from existing clearings, mature trees, and movement patterns found within the forest. This spatial framework connects the site's most significant natural elements, including a multi-trunk oak, a mature pine preserved within an internal courtyard, and a sequence of birch trees leading toward a group of detached cabins.
A series of gabled timber volumes reinterpret the familiar silhouette of traditional rural buildings. Their vertically stretched proportions establish a dialogue with the surrounding pine forest while maintaining a restrained presence within the landscape. Buildings are carefully positioned to preserve existing vegetation, frame views, and create a sequence of sheltered outdoor spaces.
At the heart of the complex is a semi-enclosed courtyard that functions as its social and organizational center. Dining areas, communal spaces, activity rooms, and circulation routes are arranged around this open space, ensuring continuous visual and physical connections to the outdoors. A flexible multipurpose hall opens toward the forest and can accommodate a range of activities, from group gatherings to wellness programs.
Smaller courtyards and transitional spaces play an equally important role in the project's spatial experience. One courtyard is dedicated to meditation beneath a lightweight timber canopy that filters sunlight and creates shifting shadow patterns throughout the day. Another preserves an existing birch tree as its central element, allowing seasonal change to become an active component of everyday use. Together, these spaces create moments of pause within the broader composition.
Materiality was guided by principles of longevity, tactility, and environmental responsibility. The buildings utilize CLT construction, pine timber, Kebony-modified wood cladding, copper, glass, and polished concrete. Selected for their durability and ability to age naturally, these materials gradually integrate the architecture into its woodland setting over time. Sustainable strategies include photovoltaic panels, rainwater harvesting, biological wastewater treatment systems, and energy-efficient building technologies.
Rather than treating nature as a backdrop, SANCTUM positions the landscape as the project's primary architectural element. Through the careful orchestration of buildings, courtyards, pathways, and open spaces, the retreat creates a spatial framework that encourages slower movement, heightened awareness, and a deeper relationship with the surrounding environment.
