Kengo Kuma creates 'Meditation House' with Jenga-like facade in Bavaria
By Andrew Manns
To feel nature is very important. The people who use this space feel part of the forest
– Kengo Kuma
Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has designed the "Meditation House" – a wellness facility and retreat – in the Bavarian woodlands outside Krün, Germany.
The 160 sq m outbuilding, which is only accessible by foot, is part of the 133-key Das Kranzbach spa hotel and features floor-to-ceiling windows, a tea room with artisan-designed tatami mats, and a meditation hall.
The look of the pavilion was inspired both by traditional Japanese wooden townhouses and by German chapels. The structure's facade, visibly its most distinguishable aspect, is comprised of 1,500 individual boards of fir wood.
This fact has led Studio Lois, a German architecture firm who collaborated with Kuma on the project, to liken the Meditation House to a Jenga-like low-rise.
In a description from its website, Kranzbach said: "We deliberately chose an architect from Japan. Meditation plays a significant role in the Far East, and Japan for hundreds of years has built houses predominantly out of wood.
"Architect Kengo Kuma is recognised as the master of combining nature and inspirational design."
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Kengo Kuma creates 'Meditation House' with Jenga-like facade in Bavaria
By Andrew Manns
To feel nature is very important. The people who use this space feel part of the forest
– Kengo Kuma
Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has designed the "Meditation House" – a wellness facility and retreat – in the Bavarian woodlands outside Krün, Germany.
The 160 sq m outbuilding, which is only accessible by foot, is part of the 133-key Das Kranzbach spa hotel and features floor-to-ceiling windows, a tea room with artisan-designed tatami mats, and a meditation hall.
The look of the pavilion was inspired both by traditional Japanese wooden townhouses and by German chapels. The structure's facade, visibly its most distinguishable aspect, is comprised of 1,500 individual boards of fir wood.
This fact has led Studio Lois, a German architecture firm who collaborated with Kuma on the project, to liken the Meditation House to a Jenga-like low-rise.
In a description from its website, Kranzbach said: "We deliberately chose an architect from Japan. Meditation plays a significant role in the Far East, and Japan for hundreds of years has built houses predominantly out of wood.
"Architect Kengo Kuma is recognised as the master of combining nature and inspirational design."
As the entrepreneur who started Wexer, Fresh Fitness, Fitness DK and Repeat, as well as being a former elite athlete, Rasmus Ingerslev’s life looked perfect from the outside, but onthe inside it was a different story. He talks to Kath Hudson about healing old wounds
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driven by changing consumer
preferences. Julie Cramer talks
to innovators about how their
products are meeting this demand
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Celebrating its milestone 5th anniversary, W3Fit EMEA returns in 2026 with an unmissable
gathering of the Health & Fitness industry’s most influential leaders.
UK Active has announced the next phase of its Digital Futures programme, supporting organisations
across the physical activity sector to develop their digital capability.
The Fitness Group, the UK's leading fitness education training provider, has announced a
strategic partnership with Serco Leisure, one of the UK's leading national operators of
leisure centres, destination venues and elite sporting facilities.