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Halcyon Ridge Retreat at golden hour, stone pavilions beside a long reflecting pool in a wooded canyon
ProjectsWellness retreat

Halcyon Ridge Retreat

A retreat of stone pavilions set into a redwood canyon above the Big Sur coast, gathered around a long reflecting pool.
Concept2026
Location
Big Sur, California
Typology
Wellness retreat
Area
3,800 m² / 40,900 sq ft
Client
Hospitality operator
Programme
12 guest pavilions, bathhouse, movement studio, communal kitchen

01Overview

Halcyon Ridge imagines a retreat that asks very little of its guests: arrive, slow down and let the canyon set the pace. Twelve guest pavilions and a bathhouse sit low among olive trees and native grasses, opening to a single long pool that holds the evening light.

02Design intent

The intent is quiet immersion. Roofs float as thin horizontal planes so the canyon remains the dominant form, while stone walls give each pavilion shelter and weight. Every room is oriented to a view, a garden and the water, never to a neighbour.

Halcyon Ridge, first sketchThe first study of the pool axis, drawn to test how low the roofs could sit against the canyon.

03Site context

A sloping clearing in a coastal redwood canyon, sheltered from Pacific winds and filled with morning fog that lifts by midday. Existing oaks and the line of a seasonal creek shaped the plan, and the pool sits where water already gathers.

Halcyon Ridge, site strategySun, fog, water and existing trees were mapped before the first sketch, setting where buildings could and could not go.

04Spatial planning

Arrival is on foot along a planted path. The communal pavilion frames the first view down the pool, guest pavilions extend along both sides with private garden courts, and the bathhouse closes the axis at the far end.

Halcyon Ridge, ground floor planThe pool axis organises arrival, gathering and retreat, with guest pavilions set in quiet pairs around private garden courts.

05Materials

Rough-split sandstone, cedar soffits left to silver, bronze window frames and honed stone floors that run continuously from inside to out.

06Drawings and studies

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