Doshi Retreat

Weil am Rhein, Germany

Doshi Retreat

Vitra Campus

A journey towards listening

You enter by following a curve. The steel walls rise on either side as the ground slopes downwards, and the landscape of the Vitra Campus gradually fades into the distance. The sounds of gongs and flutes accompany your walk to the gong hall: an intimate space, partially open to the sky.
The Doshi Retreat is the last project Balkrishna Doshi worked on, in collaboration with Khushnu Panthaki Hoof and Sönke Hoof of Studio Sangath, and the architect’s first project realised outside India. Inspired by Indian spirituality, it stems from the idea that the journey itself is part of the contemplative experience. The curves and changes in elevation invite you to slow down and prepare for a rest.

A light that does not reveal everything

Licht Kunst Licht has focused as much on darkness as on light. Hidden light sources mark the route, alternating between bright accents and stretches of darkness. Visitors are guided through a space that reveals itself one step at a time.

The lighting design won the [d]arc Awards 2025 in the Structures – Low Budget category and the Diamond Award at the D’Light Awards in the Lighting Project Design category.

The gong hall and the brass canopy

Above the gong hall, hammered brass elements, handcrafted in Ahmedabad, form a canopy that leaves part of the space open to the sky.

Here, the Micro luminaires in the wall-mounted version illuminate the metal surface, revealing the marks left by the craftsmanship. The light reflected by the brass accompanies visitors’ time spent in the hall, together with the sound of the gong.

Three cherry trees in the night

Ariel P spotlights illuminate three cherry trees from below, situated next to the steel walls. Their canopies emerge from the darkness and are the only illuminated vertical elements in the surrounding landscape.



Client: Vitra
Architecture: Balkrishna Doshi with Khushnu Panthaki Hoof and Sönke Hoof / Studio Sangath
Lighting design: Licht Kunst Licht AG
Photo courtesy of HGEsch

Products used: Micro · Ariel P

Products used in the project

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