Design Observer

Archive
Books + Store
Job Board
Email Archive
Comments
About
Contact
Log In
Register



Observatory

Resources
Submissions
About
Contact


Featured Writers

Michael Bierut
William Drenttel
John Foster
Jessica Helfand
Alexandra Lange
Mark Lamster
Paul Polak
Rick Poynor
John Thackara
Rob Walker


Departments

Advertisement
Audio
Books
Collections
Dialogues
Essays
Events
Foster Column
Gallery
Interviews
Miscellaneous
Opinions
Photos
Poetry
Primary Sources
Projects
Report
Reviews
Slideshows
Today Column
Unusual Suspects
Video


Topics

Advertising
Architecture
Art
Books
Branding
Business
Cities / Places
Community
Craft
Culture
Design History
Design Practice
Development
Disaster Relief
Ecology
Economy
Education
Energy
Environment
Fashion
Film / Video
Food/Agriculture
Geography
Global / Local
Graphic Design
Health / Safety
History
Housing
Ideas
Illustration
India
Industry
Info Design
Infrastructure
Interaction Design
Internet / Blogs
Journalism
Landscape
Literature
Magazines
Media
Museums
Music
Nature
Obituary
Other
Peace
Philanthropy
Photography
Planning
Poetry
Politics / Policy
Popular Culture
Poverty
Preservation
Product Design
Public / Private
Public Art
Religion
Reputations
Science
Shelter
Social Enterprise
Sports
Sustainability
Technology
Theory/Criticism
Transportation
TV / Radio
Typography
Urbanism
Water


Comments Posted 08.28.09 | PERMALINK | PRINT

Mark Lamster

The Om in Home: Kripalu's New Dorm


dscn5619

I'm not a big yoga fan, and always looked at the Kripalu Yoga Center, in Lenox, with a fair degree of skepticism. Its main building, a kind of overgrown quasi-colonial motel, certainly doesn't conjure any great visions of inner peace, though it is set on a bucolic bluff with privileged views. (If you're on the Stockbridge Bowl, you can't miss it.) Kripalu's new dorm, however, just might have me converted. It's beautiful. Designed by Peter Rose of Rose + Guggenheimer, it's everything that its overbearing institutional neighbor is not: a calming, handsome structure of wooden slats and louvers set comfortably in the landscape. The aesthetic is similar to Bill Rawn's Ozawa Hall, at Tanglewood, another wonderful project just down the road. A few more images.

dscn5617 dscn5621 dscn5620 dscn5623 dscn5625

The great Michael Van Valkenburg is credited with the landscaping so I guess he's responsible for that judiciously placed rock. Or maybe it was already there.
|
Share This Story

Comments

Design Observer encourages comments to be short and to the point; as a general rule, they should not run longer than the original post. Comments should show a courteous regard for the presence of other voices in the discussion. We reserve the right to edit or delete comments that do not adhere to this standard.
Read Complete Comments Policy >>


Name             

Email address 




Please type the text shown in the graphic.


|
Share This Story



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Lamster is a writer on the arts and culture. He is Associate American Editor of The Architectural Review, and is currently at work on his third book, a biography of the late architect Philip Johnson. Follow: @marklamster.
More Bio >>

DESIGN OBSERVER JOBS









RELATED POSTS


Beyond Gorgeous
Is prettiness a distraction? Yes, when it comes to taking Alexander Girard seriously.

The Bush Library
A review of the Bush Library.

Architecture Without Signs
If you can't find the entrance, there's a problem with the architecture.

What It Costs (to Buy a Bench, to Extend a Curb)
Participatory budgeting lets communities put their own urban priorities in order.

Portlandia + Timelessness
No better place to consider what looks timeless now than downtown Portland.