ENTRAIN - Retreat center for the recalibration of biological rhythms

Project idea

ENTRAIN is a retreat center designed to support the recalibration of human biological rhythms. Modern lifestyles often disrupt natural cycles of sleep, activity and recovery through artificial light, digital overstimulation and fragmented daily schedules. The project explores how architecture can help restore these rhythms by reconnecting people with natural environmental cues.
Located within a former gravel pit in Oliwa, Gdańsk, the retreat uses the site's natural isolation, surrounding woodland and existing water body to create an environment dedicated to rest and recovery. Rather than functioning as a medical facility, the project provides spatial conditions that encourage a healthier relationship between people and the natural rhythms that govern everyday life.

Project description

The retreat consists of two timber buildings organized around a shared outdoor space. The accommodation building contains guest rooms and movement facilities, while the workshop building accommodates therapy rooms, craft workshops, communal dining spaces and administration areas.
The site is structured by a network of circulation paths connecting the buildings, landscape and water body. The existing water body, a remnant of the site's industrial past, becomes a central spatial element of the project — guests arrive across a wooden bridge leading to the main workshop building, making the crossing of water a deliberate threshold between everyday life and the retreat. Wooden walkways, gravel paths and outdoor terraces extend this sequence while maintaining a strong connection to nature.
The buildings are oriented to maximize exposure to morning daylight and support healthy daily rhythms. New planting reinforces the character of the forest clearing and creates a transition between public, semi-private and private spaces.

Technical information

Both buildings are designed primarily in mass timber. The main structural materials are cross-laminated timber (CLT) for load-bearing walls and floor slabs, and glued-laminated timber (GLT) for beams and columns at longer spans. Where exposed, CLT panels function simultaneously as structure and interior finish. The roof is supported on CLT bearing walls and timber rafters, with an external row of GLT columns running along the façade.
Reinforced concrete is used selectively where it provides clear technical advantages over timber: foundation slabs for structural stability on the former gravel pit ground, and staircase and elevator cores in both buildings to satisfy fire safety requirements. All remaining structure is timber.
The choice of mass timber over concrete and steel substantially reduces the embodied carbon of the construction. Rather than emitting carbon during production, the CLT and GLT elements sequester it, storing carbon within the structure for the building's lifetime. Externally, vertical timber cladding integrates the buildings with the surrounding forest context. Inside, exposed wooden surfaces define the calm and warm character of the spaces.
The site retains 88% biologically active surface. Hard paving is limited to the parking area, access road and the wooden walkways connecting the buildings; the surrounding clearing and forest remain undisturbed.

Documentation

Show PDF 1