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New European Bauhaus
Project

RoSana guesthouse

  Can a built structure have healing effects & promote wellbeing?

RoSana guesthouse © European Union
RoSana guesthouse
© European Union, 2021

Can a built structure have healing effects & promote wellbeing?
 
Welcome to RoSana, a natural guesthouse within an ayurveda centre for anyone seeking mental retreat, physical & emotional relief, or a different way to achieve inner strength. 
 
This year's New European Bauhaus award  in "Solutions for the co-evolution of built environment & nature" was awarded to the project. 
 
The guesthouse, located in Rosenheim, Germany, is designed to be healthy for people & the environment.
 
Architects A. Heringer and M. Rauch see beauty as an expression of love! 
 
They say: “There are a lot of resources given by nature for free and all we need is our sensitivity to see them and our creativity to use them.”
 
The centre is composed of wood, earth, and willow, all of which can be found in the neighboring alluvial forest. It has a timber-based structure with glue-free, solid wood panels. As a result, the house is in complete harmony with its surroundings. 
 
The simplicity of the chosen building materials, as well as the nuances of artisanship expressed in the various ways of using earth, calms the mind while also opening the senses, especially for those pursuing stress relief, wanting to replenish their energy, or purely get grounded.  
 
Because of the use of low-tech materials & earth for high-tech performance, the project has an unconventional and innovative slant. Earth is acoustically absorbing and, most importantly, it perfectly controls indoor humidity in a natural way. 
 
The façade is untreated larch except on the south side where it faces the river Mangfall and is made of woven unpeeled, untreated willow.  
 
The rooms are composed with only few materials: rammed earth walls, mud plastering, mud-casein floors, handcrafted ceramics & tadelakt on a load bearing timber structure.  
 
All of these organic components, according to its developers, have "a positive effect on the wellbeing & health of the inhabitants." All the raw materials used on the guesthouse come directly from nature. For example, the rammed earth wall was excavation material that would otherwise have been disposed of in a landfill. 
 
📸 © European Union