This project is about a Yoga Shala proposal submitted in an International Architecture Competition Call. The site is part of a mountain Yoga Retreat Complex located in a breathtaking forest region of central Portugal. The new Yoga Shala building is inspired from the Yoga philosophy, being a spiritual practice rather than a physical exercise. Yoga practice is a personal journey towards enlightenment and the True Self. It means Connection, and this journey will only be authentic through the conceptualization and realization that everything is interconnected.
The new development apart from the Shala with an atrium space, consists of the Teahouse cave volume. Both buildings are framed by the biomorphic xeriscaping garden islands, the curvilinear walking concrete stone paths and the cultivation activities levels.
The form of the new Yoga Shala was produced by the geometric transformations of the model of the Butterfly Cocoon that gently surrounds and hosts the caterpillar throughout its metamorphosis to a brilliant butterfly. Its geometry and materiality is also connected to the construction of the Vernacular Indian and African Huts.
Bio Constantinos Yanniotis graduated from the School of Architecture NTUA in 2011, following his studies of Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Patras (2003). Since then, he has been practicing as an Architect at the Yanniotis & Associates Architectural Bureau, having an expertise in Inclusive Design. In its long-lasting activity, the Bureau has completed a significant number of projects – of both small and large scale – in various fields of building design and urban planning (residential buildings, office spaces, industrial buildings, tourist facilities, golf resorts & spor
