Bronze Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2026
In Seclusion Riverside Spa
by Zehua Zhang
- A' Design Award 2026 Bronze Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: Zehua Zhang
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 6,240
- Verification code 4F68657B0B · Verify this award
About In Seclusion Riverside Spa
The project is a riverside spa in Portugal. The design is set within an existing natural landscape and uses fluid architectural volumes to reduce visual impact. Large areas of glazing are introduced to allow views between interior spaces and the surrounding environment. Timber finishes and stone flooring are applied throughout the interior. The program includes a sauna, jacuzzi, and Turkish bath, arranged to form a sequence of bathing spaces. The layout organizes these functions in relation to the river and surrounding terrain.
ZEHUA ZHANG's In Seclusion Riverside Spa emerges from the established lineage of biophilic wellness architecture, demonstrating sophisticated engagement with traditions stretching from historic Japanese bathhouse design through mid-twentieth-century organic modernism to contemporary sustainable retreat practices that prioritize human wellbeing through intimate connection with natural systems and materials. The architectural proposition achieves notable compositional restraint, allowing horizontal roof planes to extend with graceful assurance over transparent glass volumes that simultaneously shelter and reveal, creating the threshold condition so central to spa typology where transformation occurs at the boundary between everyday experience and retreat sanctuary. The extensive deployment of floor-to-ceiling glazing systems represents considerable technical accomplishment, requiring precise structural coordination to achieve the minimal visual framing evident throughout while maintaining weatherproofing integrity and thermal performance appropriate to wellness programming that depends upon controlled environmental comfort. Particularly successful passages include the integration of vertical wood screening elements that filter natural light into warm striations across interior surfaces, the careful calibration of interior artificial lighting to amber-gold warmth that establishes thermal invitation against cool exterior atmosphere, and the thoughtful material palette that balances cool grey stone, warm cream travertine, and the saturated greens of meticulously curated landscape plantings. The architectural language suggests deep understanding of prospect-refuge theory, offering simultaneously expansive visual connection to verdant landscape context through transparent walls while providing psychological shelter through defined roof planes and strategic screening, addressing fundamental human needs for both openness and protection that wellness environments must balance. The landscape design demonstrates equal sophistication in its naturalistic arrangement of river stone clusters, specimen plantings, and textured ground covers that appear organic while revealing careful compositional orchestration—each element placed to guide circulation, frame views, and establish scale transitions between human body, architectural enclosure, and broader site context. The work participates in ongoing architectural conversations regarding materiality and authenticity, choosing natural materials that age gracefully and communicate tactile warmth rather than synthetic alternatives, a choice particularly resonant within spa programming where sensory experience extends beyond visual perception to encompass thermal, haptic, and atmospheric dimensions. The horizontal emphasis throughout the composition, from extended rooflines to stratified stone cladding to the low profile of landscape elements, establishes visual repose and suggests connection to earth, reinforcing the grounding and centering intentions central to wellness retreat experience. One observes how the architecture frames rather than dominates its verdant setting, establishing a dialogue between built form and botanical abundance that invites consideration of how contemporary design practices might honor ecological integration while fulfilling programmatic requirements for human comfort and spatial definition. How does the careful orchestration of transparency and screening, warmth and coolness, geometric precision and organic irregularity create spatial conditions that support the transformation from everyday stress to restorative calm that defines the spa experience at its most successful?
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This is a riverside spa design in Portugal that embodies serene seclusion. It harmonizes fully with its historic and natural surroundings, using low-profile architecture, expansive glass, timber interiors, and stone flooring to blur indoor and outdoor boundaries. Its strengths lie in immersive nature integration, warm materiality, and a layout combining sauna, jacuzzi, and Turkish bath, offering guests a profound, multi-sensory retreat deeply connected to the landscape.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Single-story building with overall dimensions of 20 meters in width, 8 meters in depth, and 8 meters in height.
- Tags
- Landscape architecture, leisure spa, wellness facilities, low-impact design, indoor-outdoor connection, integration with nature, immersive experience
- Production Technology
- The spa was designed through careful site analysis, integrating gently with the terrain. Timber, beige stone, and low-iron glass were chosen for warmth, durability, and transparency. The process combined ecological sensitivity, modular planning for sauna, jacuzzi, and Turkish bath, and precise glazing to enhance visual connections with nature, creating a harmonious, immersive, and sustainable environment.
- Design Challenge
- The hardest part was balancing serenity with practicality—preserving the historic watermill while adding modern spa facilities. Internally, respecting the site’s history and ecology challenged design choices. Externally, strict codes, structural limits, and material availability required adaptation. Technology and environmental analysis guided solutions, ensuring minimal impact while creating a harmonious, immersive experience
- Project Duration
- The project started in February 2025 and finished in June 2025
- Operation Flow
- The spa functions through immersive spatial design: guests move through curated areas—pool, sauna, jacuzzi, Turkish bath—experiencing gentle sensory transitions. Interaction arises from visual and tactile engagement with natural materials, light, and water. Key moments occur at floor-to-ceiling glazing, pool edges, and steam-filled interiors. By harmonizing with nature, it deepens relaxation, enhances well-being, and fosters a seamless, restorative human-nature connection.
- Research
- Type of research: design-focused experiential study. Research objectives: explore how architecture can promote deep relaxation and enhance the human-nature connection. Methodology: combining site analysis, material studies, spatial simulations, and daylight analysis. Data collection: through site photos, topographic drawings, and building equipment specifications. Research tools: cad models, 3d visualizations, material samples, and environmental sensors monitoring light, sound, and water interaction.
- Inspiration
- The inspiration came from the serene beauty of the Vez River and the timeless presence of the old watermill. I was drawn to creating a space that allows people to reconnect with nature and themselves, offering quietude without isolation. My motive was to design a spa that flows with the landscape, using natural materials and transparent architecture to blur boundaries, fostering a profound, immersive experience of calm, reflection, and harmony with the environment.
Colors of In Seclusion Riverside Spa
Design Interview about In Seclusion Riverside Spa
The main principle behind the design is the creation of a profound sense of in seclusion — a spatial experience where architecture gently dissolves into nature rather than standing apart from it. Inspired by the tranquil landscape of Portugal’s Vez River and the presence of an ancient watermill, the design seeks to reinterpret retreat as a return to inner calm and natural rhythm. Through careful integration with the terrain, the use of transparent boundaries, and natural materials like wood and stone, the SPA becomes a meditative sanctuary where human presence, water, and landscape exist in quiet harmony.
The main focus of the design is to create an immersive, sensory environment where architecture enhances rather than interrupts the surrounding natural landscape. A key intention is to achieve a seamless dialogue between interior and exterior, allowing guests to feel continuously connected to the river, greenery, and changing light conditions. By carefully controlling scale, transparency, and materiality, the design aims to cultivate a deep sense of calm and introspection, where visitors can fully disengage from external noise and reconnect with a slower, more natural rhythm of life.
The future plan for this design is to further refine it into a fully developed architectural proposal that can be realized on a real site, maintaining its core philosophy of in seclusion. Beyond the competition context, the concept is intended to be adapted and tested in different natural settings, exploring how the idea of a nature-immersed SPA can respond to varied landscapes and climates. Ultimately, the goal is to evolve this work into a typology of restorative architecture — one that redefines wellness spaces as deeply integrated, environmentally sensitive sanctuaries that support both physical and emotional well-being.
The development of this concept took place over several months of iterative exploration, beginning with site reading and spatial research around the Vez River landscape and the existing watermill context. The early phase focused on defining the core idea of in seclusion, followed by continuous refinement of spatial relationships, material language, and landscape integration. As the concept evolved, time was dedicated to balancing regulatory requirements with experiential quality, especially in the placement of SPA modules and the design of the glass-bound courtyard. The process was not linear but cyclical, gradually shaping the final proposal through repeated reflection and adjustment.
This concept was not commissioned but developed as a self-initiated exploration driven by a personal interest in the relationship between architecture, nature, and wellbeing. The idea emerged from a desire to reinterpret the SPA not as an isolated facility, but as a deeply integrated landscape experience where architecture becomes a quiet mediator between humans and the natural environment. The Vez River site and its historic watermill context further inspired this approach, offering a setting where stillness, water, and time naturally suggest a retreat-like atmosphere. The design was therefore pursued as an independent conceptual study, aiming to express a more sensitive and immersive way of living in close connection with nature.
The design is not currently being produced or used by any company. It is an independent work developed entirely by myself. At this stage, there is no intention to sell or lease production rights, nor is it tied to any external commercial development. If the opportunity arises in the future, I would prefer to be involved directly in its realization, ensuring that the original concept of in seclusion is preserved throughout any further development or execution.
This work was driven by a desire to rethink how architecture can create meaningful encounters between people and nature, especially in spaces of rest and recovery. Rather than designing a conventional SPA as a contained interior program, the intention was to dissolve boundaries and allow the surrounding landscape of the Vez River to become an active part of the experience. The concept of in seclusion reflects a personal interest in quietness, slowness, and sensory immersion, where architecture does not dominate the site but gently frames and amplifies its natural qualities. This approach was shaped by both the specific atmosphere of the riverside context and a broader exploration of wellness as a deeply environmental and emotional condition.
No, the design was developed independently without direct reference to specific designers or existing works. The concept of in seclusion emerged from my own reflection on the relationship between nature, architecture, and wellbeing, rather than being shaped by external design precedents. While I am aware of contemporary spa and retreat architecture in general, this project was guided primarily by personal interpretation of the Vez River site, its atmosphere, and the idea of creating a quiet, immersive space rooted in its own context and sensibility.
The target users of this design are both local people and visitors. For local residents, the SPA provides a nearby retreat for rest, recovery, and daily reconnection with the natural riverside environment. For visitors, it offers an immersive wellness experience rooted in the unique landscape of the Vez River and its surrounding heritage context. By serving both groups, the design creates a shared place of calm and reflection, where different users can experience the same sense of in seclusion through nature, water, and architecture.
What sets this design apart is its emphasis on true spatial seclusion achieved through deep integration with the natural and historical context of the Vez River site. Rather than treating the SPA as a standalone wellness facility, the design dissolves its boundaries through extensive use of transparency, minimal structural expression, and direct visual continuity with the landscape. The relationship between water, architecture, and courtyard is not decorative but experiential, where the river and garden become active participants in the interior atmosphere. In addition, the careful balance between strict functional SPA requirements and a calm, almost meditative architectural language allows the project to move beyond typical wellness design, creating instead a holistic environment centered on stillness, immersion, and emotional restoration.
The name of the design, IN SECLUSION, comes directly from the core spatial and emotional intention of the project. It reflects the idea of stepping away from external noise and daily routines to enter a state of quiet immersion within nature. Rather than implying isolation in a negative sense, it suggests a positive condition of retreat, where the mind and body can return to calm through close contact with water, landscape, and natural materials. The name was chosen to express this subtle balance between withdrawal and connection, where seclusion becomes a way to rediscover presence, awareness, and inner stillness.
The project was developed using a combination of digital design tools to support different stages of the process. Rhino was used for 3D modeling and spatial exploration, allowing precise development of form and relationship to the site. AutoCAD was applied for technical drawings and layout development, ensuring accuracy in planning and regulatory requirements. Photoshop was used for post-production, diagramming, and presentation layout to communicate the concept clearly. In addition, rendering tools were used to visualize materials, light, and atmosphere, helping to express the immersive quality and sensory experience of the IN SECLUSION concept.
The most unique aspect of the design is its seamless integration of architecture with the riverside landscape, where boundaries between interior and exterior are intentionally softened to create a continuous spatial experience. Instead of presenting the SPA as an enclosed object, the design allows nature, especially the Vez River and surrounding greenery, to actively enter the architecture through transparency, reflection, and spatial alignment. This creates a condition where guests are never fully separated from the environment, but constantly immersed within it. Combined with the emphasis on silence, material warmth, and sensory calmness, the project transforms the idea of a SPA into a deeply atmospheric experience of in seclusion.
The design was developed entirely by myself without collaboration with other individuals or external teams. All aspects of the project, including concept development, spatial design, technical drawings, and visual presentation, were handled independently. This allowed for a consistent and personal design direction throughout the process, ensuring that the idea of in seclusion was maintained without external alteration.
Technology in this design plays a supportive rather than dominant role, acting as a tool to translate the conceptual idea of in seclusion into precise spatial and visual outcomes. Digital modeling and drafting tools are used to control form, proportion, and spatial relationships with accuracy, especially in responding to the site conditions and regulatory requirements. Rendering technology is also important in conveying atmosphere, allowing the subtle qualities of light, water, and materiality to be expressed clearly. However, the core of the design remains rooted in nature, material experience, and spatial emotion, with technology serving only to enhance clarity, precision, and communication of the concept rather than defining it.
Yes, the design was informed by basic analytical research, particularly in relation to daylighting and natural ventilation. Studies of sun orientation and light penetration helped guide the placement of glazed façades and courtyard-facing spaces, ensuring that natural light enhances the calm and immersive atmosphere of the SPA throughout the day. In addition, wind and ventilation considerations influenced the spatial layout and openness between key program areas, supporting natural airflow and comfort within the building. This environmental analysis was used not as a strict formal generator, but as a supportive framework to reinforce the concept of in seclusion through a comfortable, naturally responsive architectural environment.
One of the main challenges was balancing strong transparency with the need for privacy and a sense of seclusion. While large areas of glazing were essential to connect the interior with the Vez River landscape, it was also important to ensure that users still feel protected and comfortable within the space. Another challenge was integrating the required SPA functions, such as sauna, jacuzzi, and Turkish bath, into a coherent spatial sequence without disrupting the calm and continuous atmosphere of the design. In addition, responding to the natural terrain and existing watermill context required careful consideration so that the new intervention would remain subtle and respectful rather than overpowering the site.
The decision to submit this design to an international competition came from a desire to test the concept of in seclusion within a broader architectural context and receive feedback beyond a personal or academic environment. An international platform offers the opportunity to compare the work with diverse design approaches from around the world, helping to evaluate its strengths and limitations more objectively. It was also a way to challenge myself, push the development of the concept further, and explore how a site-specific idea rooted in the Vez River landscape could resonate on a global level as a contemporary approach to wellness and retreat architecture.
During the design process, I learned how to better translate a conceptual idea into a coherent architectural language that integrates site, function, and atmosphere. Working on the idea of in seclusion helped me deepen my understanding of how spatial sequencing, material selection, and environmental response can collectively shape emotional experience. I also improved my ability to balance creative intentions with practical constraints, such as functional SPA requirements and site conditions, without losing the clarity of the original concept. Overall, the project strengthened my skills in developing a consistent design narrative from early research through to detailed spatial articulation and visual communication.
One additional point worth highlighting is the design’s strong commitment to an environmentally responsive approach. Beyond aesthetics and spatial experience, the project is fundamentally guided by a philosophy of being closely attuned to its natural context. The building is positioned and shaped in response to the river landscape, existing vegetation, and terrain conditions, ensuring minimal disruption to the site. Large areas of transparency allow the natural surroundings to become part of the interior experience, while the use of wood and stone reinforces a material connection to the environment. Overall, the design aims to achieve a quiet balance where architecture does not impose itself on nature, but instead coexists with it in a subtle and respectful way, fully aligning with the idea of in seclusion.
Grand Interview about In Seclusion Riverside Spa
The decisive moment came during the early site-reading phase, when I was studying how the Vez River moves around the watermill and shapes the surrounding terrain. I initially explored more rigid, geometric compositions, but they consistently felt disconnected from the softness and unpredictability of the landscape. The river does not operate through fixed lines or clear edges—it shifts, erodes, and flows in continuous variation.At a certain point in the design process, I overlaid more fluid spatial studies onto the site, and the relationship immediately changed. Instead of resisting the landscape, the architecture began to mirror its logic of movement and calm continuity. That was when I understood that In Seclusion could not be expressed through static, object-like forms. Fluid volumes became the natural language to translate the river’s presence into space, allowing the architecture to feel less like a constructed object and more like an extension of the landscape itself.
The sequencing of the sauna, jacuzzi, and Turkish bath was guided less by functional listing and more by a gradual physiological and psychological transition. I began by considering how the body and mind typically release tension—from dryness and heat, into immersion, and finally into a humid, enveloping softness. This naturally suggested a progression from sauna to jacuzzi and then to the Turkish bath as the final, most sensorially diffuse condition.Beyond the physical logic, the spatial choreography was designed to mirror a process of detachment from external stimuli. Movement through In Seclusion Riverside Spa is intentionally unhurried and slightly dissolving, with each threshold softening the perception of time and orientation. As guests move deeper into the sequence, visual connection to the exterior landscape is intermittently reintroduced and then gently withdrawn, reinforcing a rhythm of awareness and release.This layered progression allows the experience to operate like a quiet narrative: the body first empties, then floats, then becomes enveloped. By the time guests reach the final spaces, their perception is no longer anchored to external reference points but to internal calm. The sequence therefore becomes a tool for psychological reset, aligning physical transitions with a deeper state of mental suspension and recovery.
The choice of low-iron, high-transparency glass came directly from the core ambition of In Seclusion: to dissolve the architectural boundary without physically removing it. Standard glazing, with its subtle green tint, would have introduced a perceptual filter between guests and the Vez River landscape, which would contradict the idea of direct, unmediated immersion. I wanted the enclosure to feel almost absent—present in structure, but visually withdrawn.This specification was therefore driven by the need for optical neutrality. Low-iron glass allowed the architecture to act less as a frame and more as a quiet threshold, where the landscape is not viewed through a surface, but almost seems to continue uninterrupted into the interior space.The impact on light and atmosphere is significant. Throughout the day, natural light enters without distortion, preserving the true color temperature of the river, sky, and vegetation. Morning light feels soft and diffused, while midday light intensifies the clarity of reflections on water and stone surfaces. In the evening, the glass no longer reads as a barrier but as a thin membrane where interior warmth and exterior dusk begin to overlap.River reflections and woodland movement become part of the interior perception itself, constantly shifting across floors, timber surfaces, and steam-filled air. This creates a subtle instability in spatial boundaries, where guests are never fully certain where inside ends and outside begins—reinforcing the intended condition of immersive seclusion rather than separation.
The watermill was never treated as a backdrop but as the origin of the site’s narrative. Its presence informed a decision to keep the new intervention deliberately low, horizontal, and embedded rather than assertive. By respecting the scale and grounded character of the mill’s stone construction, the spa avoids competing vertically or visually, instead extending the logic of settlement along the river edge.Material continuity was another key decision. The use of stone flooring and timber interiors echoes the tactile logic of the mill—heavy, grounded elements balanced with warmer, crafted surfaces. This creates a quiet material dialogue between past and present without resorting to imitation or literal reconstruction.Spatially, the most direct homage lies in the relationship with water itself. Just as the mill once relied on the river’s flow as an active force, In Seclusion repositions water as an experiential core rather than a functional resource. The pool and glazed courtyard reframe this relationship, allowing guests to read the river’s movement as both memory and presence.At the same time, modern spa performance is achieved through clarity of zoning, integrated wellness modules, and precise environmental control. The result is a dual condition: the historical memory of labor, mechanism, and flow is preserved in spirit, while the contemporary architecture translates that legacy into a calm, immersive wellness landscape of stillness and reflection.
One of the most challenging negotiations was balancing the desire for extreme transparency with the structural requirements of a riverside site. The extensive use of floor-to-ceiling low-iron glass had to be carefully calibrated against wind loads, moisture exposure, and the need for slim mullions. Achieving that “near-invisible” boundary required close coordination between structural logic and façade detailing, where even small adjustments in span or support spacing had a visible impact on the spatial purity.Another key constraint was the relationship to the river’s edge and flood-sensitive terrain. The building footprint and levels had to be carefully adjusted to avoid disrupting natural water flow and to comply with environmental regulations. This led to a more grounded, linear massing strategy, which actually reinforced the concept of seclusion by keeping the architecture low, stable, and closely embedded in the landscape rather than elevated or fragmented.Materially, the use of timber and beige stone also had to meet durability and humidity performance standards typical of spa environments. Rather than limiting the design, these constraints sharpened it: they pushed the selection toward materials that could naturally age, resist moisture, and maintain tactile warmth over time. Ultimately, what began as regulatory and structural limitations became a design filter, refining In Seclusion into a more precise, restrained, and environmentally coherent architectural language.
The environmental readings played a grounding role in translating intuition into spatial precision. Light studies, for example, revealed how rapidly the riverside canopy shifts from dense shadow to high reflectivity throughout the day. This directly influenced the decision to use highly transparent, low-iron glazing and to carefully orient the main courtyard so that it could capture both filtered morning light and the stronger reflections of midday without glare overpowering the interior calm.Sound and water interaction data were equally influential. Measurements of river acoustics—especially seasonal variation in flow intensity—showed that the river is not uniformly quiet, but oscillates between near-silence and pronounced movement. This led to a spatial strategy of acoustic layering: thicker material zones around sauna and Turkish bath areas, and more open, reflective volumes near the pool, where the sound of water could be partially absorbed or reinterpreted rather than blocked.There were moments of contradiction. My initial instinct was to maximize full openness toward the river at all points, but data showed that certain orientations would introduce excessive sound and glare during peak flow and summer brightness. Rather than weakening the concept, this pushed the design toward selective permeability—moments of full exposure balanced with carefully calibrated enclosure.In that sense, the data did not replace intuition but refined it. It transformed the idea of “seclusion” from a purely poetic condition into a measurable spatial gradient, where sensory intensity is continuously adjusted rather than uniformly maximized.
The glazing strategy was calibrated as a gradual threshold rather than a continuous condition. Full-height transparency was concentrated along the courtyard and river-facing edges where the landscape is most legible and slow-moving, allowing guests to feel fully immersed without visual chaos. These moments of openness are placed where the body is likely to pause—along circulation breaks, resting points, and the pool edge—so the view becomes something to inhabit rather than pass through.In contrast, more intimate or thermally intense zones like the sauna and Turkish bath were given a more restrained glazing ratio, sometimes offset or partially framed, to preserve inward focus and protect the sensory concentration of heat, steam, and body awareness. This avoids overexposure and maintains psychological containment.Between these extremes, the architecture creates a rhythm of expansion and compression—alternating between openness to the river and subtle enclosure. This controlled oscillation ensures the landscape is always present but never overwhelming, achieving the intended condition of quietude without isolation.
The most convincing dimension is the project’s treatment of the landscape interface as an active spatial system rather than a boundary condition. In In Seclusion Riverside Spa, integration with surroundings is not achieved by blending visually alone, but by structuring the entire spatial sequence around the river, terrain, and existing watermill context. The architecture is kept low, linear, and embedded, allowing the natural topography to remain the dominant force while the building behaves almost like an extension of it.This directly links environmental responsibility with spatial quality. By minimizing disruption to the land and carefully positioning volumes along existing gradients, the design reduces impact while simultaneously strengthening the clarity of circulation, light, and view relationships. The result is that ecological sensitivity is not a limitation imposed on the architecture, but the very generator of its spatial logic.In this sense, integration, light, and spatial harmony are not separate criteria but overlapping outcomes of the same decision-making process. The project demonstrates that when architecture fully accepts site conditions as primary drivers, environmental responsibility and architectural intensity reinforce each other rather than compete.
My approach was shaped by working directly with the site section as the main design driver. For the 20-meter-wide, single-story volume, I didn’t start from a fixed massing idea, but from how the riverbank naturally rises and falls, using those shifts to organize structure and space. The building is kept low and stretched along the contour, so it follows the land instead of cutting across it. This allowed the spa to sit quietly within the landscape while still maintaining clear, continuous interior spaces. In the end, the design comes from aligning structure with terrain logic, so the volume feels integrated into the riverbank rather than placed on top of it.
The most important lesson was that experiential intensity does not come from adding more architecture, but from carefully reducing what stands between the user and the site. In In Seclusion Riverside Spa, restraint in form, material, and siting did not weaken the experience—it sharpened it. By keeping the building low, quiet, and highly controlled in its openings, the presence of the river, light, and vegetation became the dominant spatial content.This showed me that architectural modesty can actually amplify perception: the less the building asserts itself, the more sensitive the user becomes to subtle changes in light, sound, and atmosphere.I now carry this forward by prioritizing calibration over expression in my design process—focusing on thresholds, transitions, and sensory sequencing rather than formal gestures. The goal is to let architecture act as a precise frame for experience, where intensity emerges from relationship, not from form itself.