Kokoro Springs

A wellness retreat in Lake County, California, built around ancient hot springs — 20 prefabricated cabins, an Onsen spa pavilion, and a sequenced site plan that draws guests progressively deeper into the landscape.

Kokoro Springs is a wellness retreat built around ancient hot springs on a 300-acre property in Lake County, California, developed in collaboration with Vida Masterplanning. The programme brings together 20 prefabricated cabins, an Onsen-inspired spa and treatment pavilion, a cannabis showcase greenhouse, and a central arrival building housing dining for up to 42 guests, flexible workshop spaces, and a welcome lounge. Guests arrive at the main building and are oriented to the retreat before making their way deeper into the landscape — each element of the programme placed in deliberate sequence, drawing visitors through the property and toward the ancient springs at its heart.

The Onsen building occupies its own moment in the landscape, reached by crossing a stream via a bridge. A ritual of arrival is embedded in the architecture: shoes removed, an intention written and placed in a bowl before proceeding to the pools. The main baths are housed in a semi-enclosed pavilion set beside a new lake. The cannabis greenhouse is a lightweight steel pavilion that doubles as an alternative gathering and dining space by day and glows as a green lantern across the valley after dark. Curved architectural forms appear throughout the project, framing views outward and connecting each building to its ground.