Located just one hour west of Washington DC, the Simply Shenandoah retreat offers a transformative wellness experience in a highly immersive wilderness setting to create spiritual alignment between individuals, community, and Mother Nature. There are multiple programmatic functions, including spaces of release, nourishment, gathering, and rest, all of which surround a series of outdoors spaces for connection, growth, and healing.
Coen+Partners led the master plan and assembled the architectural team composed of Olson Kundig, Marlon Blackwell Architects, and Thrive Architecture. The 130,000-square-foot retreat is located on a rural 400+ acre site in the Shenandoah mountains and includes extensive forest and meadow restoration.
The retreat is designed to embody a carbon-neutral approach in both construction and operations while maximizing engagement and minimizing impact on the land. We worked with tribal leaders from the Ihanktonwan Dakota, Chickasaw Nation, Lumbee, and Cherokee during the design process to perform clearing and grounding ceremonies. Working in the heavily forested context, the buildings and landscape elements are meant to compliment the character of the site rather than compete with it. The buildings sit in the landscape as dark boxes with warm carved porches that orient guest toward key views during moments of repose.