Escapism: Design Mountain Retreat in Serbia

As I am slowly preparing for my trip to New Zealand I keep thinking of the soothing and invigorating power of nature. I prepare myself for mounains, rugged landscapes, the ocean, rainforests, volcanoes. I also think of the term ‘escapism’. Now when was that a sort of trend thingie? The past few years or so, no? Well, it feels like it is very now to me seeing all the frenzy on the news. But I digress. What I wanted to talk about today is a fantastic design retreat on the Divcibare mountains in western Serbia. This little gem was designed by the architecture studio .exe from Serbia.

Placing a well designed object like this mountain retreat in the wilderness of the nature might seem contradictory at the beginning, but this contrast creates an interesting visual impact as it makes both aspects stand out – suddenly the nature surrounding the design object or house seems wilder and the design object seems more sophisticated and elaborate. However, to achieve this pleasing visual impact the object needs to be well designed and fit its surroundings.

This mountain refuge is a wonderful example of matching design and wilderness. The geometric shape counteracts the green nature but it can also be seen as a reference to the surrounding rocks. The house combines materials that also blend into the environment. Concrete, stone and wood perfectly blend into the setting and the large window front opens up the retreat to the breathtaking vistas over forests and mountains. Basically it serves as a connection of the indoors and outdoors making the experience perfect and enhancing the feeling of an escape to the wilderness.

So now I am back to that humongous suitcase staring at me with its dunning emptiness. Seems like an escape to the wilderness requires some urban tidbits after all.

Photography by Relja Ivanic via Before After