Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health / Peter Rose & Partners

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Architecture firm Peter Rose & Partners has completed Annex KripaluThe first stage of the master plan to remodel office Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. The project reflects the commitment of the long career of Rose of innovative ecological design, has recently been declared winner of the prestigious National AIA Housing in the specialized category of accommodation, and only a day later, he was awarded an Honorable Mention in the category of environments of the Annual ID Design Review 2010.

Located between 300 acres of dense forest in the Berkshire Mountains, Kripalu (kri-PAH-loo) is the largest yoga retreat and more established in North America. For over 30 years, Kripalu has been the teaching of life skills to achieve optimal through experiential education of the mind, body and spirit, and this holistic approach is the starting point for innovation plan said the proposed commission Kripalu in 2004.

According to Rose, “the Kripalu housing must be modest and simple, but the architecture of the Annex, as the yoga itself, must be full of subtlety and layers of complexity that gently enhance the performance of the structure. The entry of light and air is achieved using minimal means to create a peaceful atmosphere, is all about meeting these requirements. ”

Public Building, : Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health - Peter Rose & Partners1

Public Building, : Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health - Peter Rose & Partners

The 80 rooms of the Residential Tower are attached to existing facilities Kripalu Center via a glass-covered passage cover and facing south for most sun exposure, allowing guests to move from the old to the new structure easily if they wish. Under an awning on the west facade, the main entrance leads to a modest entrance hall and a yoga space of 2,400 square meters with two sides of glass, surrounded by dense foliage and full of light.

In plan, the building is organized along axis diminishing winds and generating views that capture the landscape. The structure of concrete and occasionally nuclei reveal the side of the grid coated cypress. The coating will eventually be a natural gray, allowing the Housing Tower from the other side of the lake, almost entirely disappear from the wooded landscape.

On every window of every room including cypress shutters. The manually operated sliding shutters allow customers to change their views and sun exposure, and, randomness gives movement to the front. In addition, visitors can see the play of shadows, and feel the temperature of the wood, while allowing the cypress-scented breeze into the room. The natural ventilation, radiant hydronic heating and cooling, and design extremely compact (volume is 30% smaller than the typical construction) reduce energy consumption by nearly half compared to conventional construction.

Using simple materials and robust integrated into an aerodynamic design, the building does its job with efficiency and lasting beauty and quiet, going off the road to give it greater prominence.

A similar way of thinking influenced the overall master plan Peter Rose & Partners. The proposed changes include a renovation of existing campus buildings, improved landscaping and new buildings to increase capacity, so that together they complete a serene environment, ecologically sensitive and a model of environmental responsibility.

80 out of 100 : by 75 users

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