When we think of spaces that foster meditation, our minds often travel either to Japan's Zen gardens, where clean lines and carefully arranged landscaping call for stillness, or to Scandinavia's designs with neutral tones and soft fabrics. These styles evoke a sense of calm through simplicity, often seen as a characteristic of Japanese and Northern European architectural styles. Yet, stillness and meditation are not restricted to these types of settings. Latin American architectural traditions also offer powerful, though often overlooked, approaches to meditative spaces. With earthy tones of terracotta, rough adobe textures, intimate courtyards, and a strong connection to nature, these environments call for reflection through warmth and material richness, creating spaces that are calming without being understated.
In this curated collection, we will explore residential architecture in Latin America that evokes a sense of meditation through elements such as wooden doors that open to sunny courtyards, lush gardens with leaves that filter the sun's rays, hammocks illuminated by the afternoon sun, and walls in warm colors that create an inviting atmosphere. The use of local, organic materials such as stone, clay, and wood, ties the spaces to their environment, creating a tangible connection to the earth.
