A small home with a great sense of presence, The Pond Retreat is where sustainable living and quiet luxury settle into the rhythms of the landscape. Designed by Biotope Architecture + Interiors, this 120m² dwelling grows from a close reading of the site — an approach that favours designing with the land, allowing its character to guide every gesture.
At its heart lies the pond. Once an eroded, leaking dam, it has been patiently regenerated into a thriving wetland ecosystem. What was once depleted now hums with life: clearer water, richer biodiversity, and a renewed ecological function. It anchors the project, not just physically but emotionally — a calm, breathing centre.
The architecture leans into openness and dissolution. Large sliding doors invite the outdoors into the living spaces, softening the threshold between shelter and landscape. Bathrooms draw on Japanese influences, offering small rituals of calm. The material palette is raw and honest — rammed earth, charred timber, Corten steel — each chosen for its tactility, sustainability, and ability to hold the story of place.
Along the highway edge, a rammed-earth wall crafted by local makers provides acoustic protection and thermal mass. Above it, a continuous skylight washes the interior with daylight, creating a slow choreography of light and shadow that shifts throughout the day. It’s a quiet reminder of time passing — architecture in conversation with the sun.
Sustainability is not an add-on here; it is the project’s backbone. Local materials reduce embodied energy and support regional craft. The regenerated pond and native planting work together to build resilient ecosystems, enhance biodiversity, and restore soil health. The retreat doesn’t simply sit within the landscape — it contributes to its renewal.
From the beginning, the intention was to create a home deeply connected to its surroundings. This guided the building’s placement, the framing of views, and the way each space opens outward. The result is a retreat that feels both grounded and expansive, offering visitors a place to slow down, reconnect, and appreciate the setting.
Today, The Pond Retreat stands as a sanctuary — a place where nature and comfort coexist in balance, and where the landscape is not just observed but felt.
