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Steel Grid Pathways Enhancing Meditation in a Green Retreat

Authors:
Piotr Pańczyk, Magda Palczowska
Steel Grid Pathways Enhancing Meditation in a Green Retreat
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Set within a serene natural setting, the design integrates historical preservation with contemporary interventions to support contemplative activities. The approach balances functional requirements with environmental integration, creating a thoughtful relationship between built form and landscape
5 key facts about this project
01
The barn features outdoor meditation areas and a silence chamber.
02
Ramps wrap around the barn for enhanced accessibility.
03
The pension is designed as a single-volume structure.
04
A protective grid supports climbing plants for integration.
05
Automated parking is designed to blend with vegetation.

Touch the Barn is situated within a tranquil landscape, combining the preservation of a historical barn with the introduction of a lightweight steel structure. The design supports meditation and reflection, encouraging visitors to engage with the environment through spatial exploration and careful material interventions. The barn is repaired and maintained to retain its original character, while new elements provide accessibility and functional support.

Spatial Strategy
The barn is wrapped with accessible ramps, allowing visitors to experience the building from multiple perspectives and engage with its history. The site includes a meditation camp composed of the barn and an adjoining pension. The barn houses outdoor meditation areas, an event hall, a silence chamber, and restrooms. The pension is organized as a single-volume structure with guest rooms arranged around shared galleries, facilitating privacy and reflection while maintaining clear circulation and minimal maintenance requirements.

Materiality and Sustainability
A protective grid, derived from an abstract brick pattern, provides safety while supporting climbing plants that reinforce the integration of architecture and landscape. Environmental impact is further reduced through a compact automated parking solution designed to be gradually covered by vegetation, blending into the surroundings. The combination of preserved historic fabric, lightweight steel additions, and green interventions emphasizes material sensitivity and site integration.

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The Next House: USA — A Global Call to Reimagine the American Suburb

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Competition organisers

Buildner is launching The Next House: USA, a global architecture competition that challenges architects, designers, and thinkers to reimagine the American suburban home for the 21st century. For decades, the suburban house has symbolized comfort and stability, but today it often reflects excess, isolation, and environmental strain. This competition asks: how can the American home evolve to address climate urgency, economic pressures, and shifting social values?

Participants are tasked with designing a prototype home of no more than 1,500 sq ft (≈140 m²) for a household of two adults and one child. The design should be compact yet generous, adaptable, sustainable, affordable, and replicable across diverse U.S. contexts. More than a design exercise, the competition aims to spark a conversation about how homes can support healthier, smarter, and more connected communities.

The total prize fund is $20,000 USD. The final registration deadline is May 20, 2026, and winners will be announced on September 22, 2026. The Next House: USA invites architects, students, and visionaries worldwide to redefine what the American home means today—and what it should mean tomorrow.

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