Located in Pacifica, CA, Earthshine is a wellness and daytime retreat center dedicated to the pursuit of health and happiness within the individual self and society. The center is committed to fostering community growth and connectivity through mindful recreation, education, and events which support local causes. It is also devoted to environmental integrity through sustainable design and operations as well as ecological protection initiatives. Earthshine is for those who seek growth, balance, and overall wellness in their lives and communities. 

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Earthshine’s concept was inspired by the vast and ever changing ocean that lives and breathes just beyond the walls of the building's envelope. It’s unparalleled beauty, inherent power, and dynamic behavior lent a compelling and complex foundation from which to stem my design decisions. 

 

One of my overarching design goals for the project was to minimize the boundary that so often exists between nature and the built environment and in doing so, provide my program’s user with both tangible and abstract connections to the oceanic world beyond their interior experience. Rather than seeing the building as something separate from its coastal context, my intention was to treat it as an extension of the waters edge.