Spirala

Building a Community

AWARDS: Bee Breeders Competition – 2021 – Shortlisted Project

SAT CHIT ANANDA (TRUTH, CONSCIOUSNESS, BLISS)

Nestled within the Spirala Ecological Village in Portugal, the Sat Chit Ananda Community Rotunda celebrates the landscape with its inviting understated beauty and welcoming gestures.

INSPIRATION

Inspired by sacred geometry, both floor and ceilings are imprinted with complimenting feminine and masculine formal rhythms.

ALIGNMENT

Situated on axis with the existing pond, the timber structure is clad with rammed earth and glazing panels that open and close depending on the weather conditions.  The clerestory windows provide a drum of light on which the ceiling mandala rests. 

CONNECTION

With an oculus above, aligned with the core of an imprinted Merkava below, the space is activated through connection to the landscape in all directions, rooted to the Earth and yearning for the heavens above. 

HEALING LANDSCAPE

The community center is surrounded by an informal landscape design incorporating a variety of local medicinal plantings and beneficial plants for birds, bees and butterflies.