Ayurvedic Pavilion

The Svatá Kateřina Resort is surrounded by deep forests. Under the crowns of the trees, in the underbrush and moss, fields of granite stones of various shapes and sizes spread out. This local characteristic has been humbly utilized for the establishment of the new Ayurvedic medicine pavilion.
A modular grid has been outlined on the site. In the intersections of the axes, 105 monolithic stones are arranged so that their summits create a plane in the undulating terrain. Rising from the field of stones is a wooden pavilion. The supporting skeleton of the pavilion consists of vertical cross columns and horizontal beams. The archaic composition of the cross column and beam forms the internal order of the building, in which each interval of the skeletal structure has its own center. The motif of the center is accentuated by two central spaces - an open atrium and a hall with a pool. The outer perimeter of the building constitutes a gallery, which provides relaxing visitors with a visual connection to the surrounding landscape.
Three sides of the pavilion offer three distinct sceneries - a view of the open landscape, a close experience of the forest, and a secluded meditation garden. The division between the interior and exterior is softened by textile drapery that wraps around the pavilion on three sides. Besides providing shade, it also serves as a curtain that frames the views of the surroundings and, when drawn, shapes the light atmosphere of the pavilion's interior space.
The basic building materials - stone and wood - are complemented by the subtle material of textiles that delineates the inner space of the building in the spirit of fabric - the primal enclosure (Gottfried Semper). The fabric also permeates the pavilion as a natural dividing element of the individual spaces designated for relaxation and rest. The architecture of the Ayurvedic medicine pavilion is conceived based on a philosophical conviction that the source of calm, both internal and external, is order, which creates natural and readable boundaries in a chaotic and unbounded space. The entire structure - space, construction, and material - thus enhances the effects of Ayurvedic medicine and creates an oasis of calm, meditation, and rest.