Set within the Balkan Mountains in the south of Serbia, Air Health Retreat is a modern-day primordial destination with relative proximity to urban centres as an escape destination and a removal from the city.
The climate resort – designed by Anarchitect – connects guests with nature through minimalist self-contained accommodation and a rooftop plateau of planted allotments for growing and gathering wild berries, honey and other organic health foods from the region. This open-air roof garden encourages outdoor activity and foraging, building a short-term community amongst those in residence.
Strategically placed at the intersection of natural crosswinds where the altitude and air quality is optimal, Air Health Retreat also offers an opportunity for natural cross-ventilation to the guest accommodation and communal allotment plateau with its shaded, open-air saltwater pool, meaning guests can sit, lay or gather in the sun whilst taking in striking views of the valley below and reaping the maximum health benefits.
The project primarily takes its inspiration from health resorts known as ‘Air Spas’ with medicinal purposes, which were built in socialist Eastern Europe post–World War II, while architectural cues are contextually derived from the Brutalist movement of the same era and the requirement for dense, thermal mass construction, sustained longevity and robustness – given the property’s remote and exposed location.
Air Health Retreat is the latest addition to Anarchitect’s growing hospitality portfolio, following the completion of Al Faya Lodge in Sharjah and Harding Boutique Hotel in the Sri Lankan tropics.
