Wellness architecture: a journey through cultures, traditions and new rituals

The concept of wellness takes on many different forms according to culture and geography. In Japan, silence and thermal waters make for a spiritual practice, in Finland saunas become collective, social rituals, in Morocco, hammams combine care and community rituals. In each case, architecture and space always have a crucial role to play, not just as containers, but as tools capable of translating rituals into sensory experiences. 

Over the last few years, several great architects have reinterpreted local wellness traditions, combining them with a contemporary and sustainable vision of hospitality. The following projects are testament to the evolution of wellness: from a cultural practice to an architectural language that interprets new needs and historic roots. 

Japan – The cult of water and the beauty of silence

Nishimuraya Honkan, Kinosaki Onsen 
To understand the spirit of  Japanese wellness you have to experience an onsen bath: thermal springs that have punctuated the rhythm of life for centuries. Right at the heart of the thermal town of  Kinosaki, Nishimuraya Honkan is a historic ryokan, a traditional hot spring inn that offers an authentic immersion into this culture. Run by the same family for seven generations, and restructured in 2024, the facility has conserved a wing designed in 1960 by the architect  Masaya Hirata, with sukiya style principles in mind: essentiality, harmony with nature and the use of natural materials.
The heart of the experience is the thermal programme: three private internal baths along with free access to the town’s seven public sotoyu for a more extensive wellness and contemplation experience. Each space has been designed with silence, slowness and contact with the elements in mind. Rooms featuring tatami, internal gardens, kaiseki cuisine delivered by room service and discreet hospitality round off a stay that instils the essence of wellness as a cultural and spiritual philosophy. 

Norway – Saunas as urban spaces 

Trosten, Oslo
Saunas are far more than just rituals in the Nordic countries – they’re part of collective life, combining wellbeing and sociality. In Oslo, Oslo Badstuforening commissioned Estudio Herrero to turn this tradition into an urban icon – Trosten, a floating sauna on a fjord. Accessible and inclusive, it can host 24 people and boasts features such as ramps, mobile seating and heated floors. A small 50-seat open-air amphitheatre becomes a spontaneous viewing point over the landscape. The 75% recycled aluminium facades with their green reflections dialogue with the changing light of the water, while the certified wood interiors and recycled terrazzo floors convey warmth and materiality. Trosten isn’t just a place for getting sweaty, it’s a social infrastructure that interweaves nature and the city, redefining the very meaning of sauna. 

Italy – The legacy of thermal baths and urban wellness 

De Montel – Milan
Roman baths have left a deep mark on Italian wellness culture. In Milan, this legacy lives on with the De Montel – Terme Milano project, which has brought the historic Art Nouveau stables of San Siro, designed in the 1920s by the architect Vietti Violi, back to life. Inaugurated in 2025, the new spa was designed by THDP, which developed a concept inspired by the element of water, combining elegance, refined materials and rarefied ambiances. Arranged over several different levels, the complex houses ten thermal pools for a total of 800 cubic meters of water, large relaxation areas, refreshment areas and treatment areas. The park boasts four saunas, a steam bath, a tepidarium and a Russian banya. Water, drawn from a spring at a depth of 396 metres, is at the heart of the project, while the inclusion of solar panels and water recovery systems underscores the attention to sustainability. De Montel today represents a manifesto of urban wellness: a place that blends historical memory, architecture and contemporary rituals.

United States – The spirituality of the desert and indigenous rituals (Photo: Amangiri) 

Aman Spa, Utah
The Aman Spa at Amangiri, in Utah’s Canyon Point, is one of the most iconic examples of the integration of architecture, landscape and indigenous culture. Designed by the American architectural trio Marwan Al-Sayed, Wendell Burnette and Rick Joy, the facility is a benchmark concept for immersive and spiritual wellness. The architecture literally blends into the desert – raw concrete, local stone and horizontal geometries blend seamlessly into the ancient rocks without compromising them, following the principles of material minimalism and visual silence. The Aman Spa draws inspiration from traditional Navajo rituals, incorporating local healing practices such as the use of herbs, hot stones and energy treatments based on the four natural elements. Wellbeing is conceived as a deep connection with place, through meditative experiences, mud baths, mindfulness walks and open-air treatments, where the sky and the silence become part of the therapy.