Grooming Retreat | Spain | 2014 - THE [RADICAL] PROJECT

[Gartnerfuglen + Mariana de Delás]

As the young professional urbanite decided to move back to her hometown to take up the family agricultural legacy, she asked for a space for grooming, contemplation and delicacy. (Located on a remote agricultural estate in southern Mallorca, this structure was the realisation of her dream.)

The project focuses on the ritual of self-cleansing, both mental and corporal. Learning from the importance and formality of horse grooming before and after riding it, the project intends to gain back the time devoted to one self that modern times has taken away.

The ceremonial procedure begins with the ritual of the equestrian arrival. The horse is stationed and groomed next to the water tank and manger. Next, a peregrination across the raised wooden walkway leads to the ascension through a hatch into the solemn refuge. The elevated sanctuary does not prioritize to shelter from the environment but rather aims to refuge the urbanite from the social order to remind and applause the conditions of her indigenous surroundings. This fragile fortress, keeps you isolated, but also allows a toned down impression of the surroundings. In contrast to the urban daily life of the client, the presence inside the elevated shrine provides no impulses except the internal.

Sited at the center of a barley field surrounded by autochthonous bushes and wild olive trees, the structure grants a panoramic view meeting the Mediterranean sea and senses at the horizon the lush island of Cabrera.

The minimal space (3×3 meters footprint), functions as a grooming retreat for one person. The structure, made by local timber frames, elevates the cocoon to have exclusive views whilst giving a sense of translucent privacy to the user. Layers of white netting frames are interlaced throughout the interior to grant different opacities for each specific use. The subtle introvertness of the structure encourages the user to take a break from the multitasking contemporary madness, and centre on individual mental and bodily hygiene. With importance on grooming’s meditative (not cosmetic) qualities, the space inspires the user to devote time to the reconnection of the mind to the shell. Text description by the architects.