Satyarupa Yoga Retreat

All things are real when they are true to themselves. Under this affirmation, how can the shape of the truth be spatially expressed? How can we express all that is true to itself? Using their very nature by sticking to their function and environment on one side, and by being true to their spirit and who inhabits them on the other. The inhabitant is a being that seeks freedom from all the entanglements of the mind, and constantly tries to eliminate everything that prevents him from seeing clearly. Where he lives, is a space that helps him in that quest by being sincere and eurythmic. In order to grasp Satyarupa’s spatial conception, the starting point is everything and nothing. Just like in the center of the Universe, any point can be the starting point. Nonetheless, everything works and is ordered. One element subsists due to another, as is the case with the complicity between the Moon and the Earth, the Moon and the oceans, and the oceans and life itself. At times, the main factor to consider is the being, the humanity. However, it could also be the flora and the fauna, and at the same time, everything that cannot be materialized, like the air and time. Everything orders itself through an imaginary reticulum that works like a constellation, where all things live in harmony in two or three dimensions, due to the grid. The rooms are slightly elevated where the terrain had been previously impacted, where all the vegetation was removed and the only thing that remains is dirt. The purpose of this site is to not take any more life from the ground, because then, only the human qualities would prevail and would not subsist in harmony with everything else. The rooms do not answer simply to the site, but also to the orientation. The shape is made up of two squares; the first one is a space to sleep which contains a bed pointing towards the south and a window looking outside into the garden. The second one contains the lobby and a bench to leave shoes. The bathroom is separated from the living area through a patio with vegetation that works as an illumination and natural ventilation cube. Due to this vacuum, air conditioning can be dispensed with as much as possible and cross ventilation can be achieved. The walls within the rooms are made of compacted earth for two reasons, the first one being that this material can be found in the region, and the second one being its thermal qualities. As a sustainable strategy, all the slabs are vegetative with plans that are native to the region, on one side, to return to the ground what had been taken when the constructions were unrooted, and to attract biodiversity, including different species of birds and pollinators. Conceptually, it also has a function: the integration of all the four elements (land, water, air and fire). The way water and land are translated has to do with the green covers, it is not a literal translation. Without water, there can be no life, and the kindest way to translate this in architecture is by adding life to the roof as a reflection of the liquid that every living thing needs to survive. The entrance pavilion is made up of two volumes. The first one is the main body, located in the North and South. It is light and simple, and where all the daily activities take place in this type of building. It is completely open to allow both energy and wind circulation. Due to the nature of its location, it only contains a couple of ventilators to create a comfortable environment. The mosquito nets serve both as a door and as insect control. The second volume is tougher and heavier. Its slab is lower than that of the first volume, allowing windows to be placed at the change in level in zenith form for ventilation and illumination. A temple was placed at the center of the site, representing femininity. It culminates in a square, which in turn represents masculinity. The columns unfold to the inside as a protective shell, and to the outside as a portal to the garden to gradually form a mandala. The temple is recognized as a sacred place to stage the cosmos. The volunteer ward found at the west of the temple. consists of bamboo and is covered by vegetative slab that, aside from the reasons which have been previously stated, serves to create a cooler space because it captures the Sun’s rays and improves the quality of the air. Finally, the spa, located at the North of the temple. Its physiognomy is like that of the volunteer ward. The difference lies in the light panels that shape the facade. These ones are lighter, and they lack the glass that allows the doors to be fully opened to the wind and light. Water is a fundamental resource and plays a crucial role in our lives. Thus, it must be cared for and treated with respect. With that being stated, the temple will have its own rainwater harvesting system to treat it and reuse it. In terms of saving energy, the plan is to install a roof in the building’s slab that contains solar panels to produce enough energy to be used within the building. Last, but certainly not least, the Satyarupa building enacts the use of positive speech, not only in terms of education and teaching, but also through the implementation of strategies that physical, conceptual and sensible to the natural world. The design emphasizes the relationship between the tangible and the imperceptible, always paying attention to all living things that transit through it.