From Overcrowding to Opportunity: Designing Sustainable Hospitality through Slow Tourism

Hirwa Dave // Advisor: Deb Ruben

Belonging in Nature: A Sustainable Glamping Retreat

This thesis explores the design of a sustainable glamping retreat that fosters a meaningful connection between people and nature through immersive, low-impact architecture. Rooted in biophilic principles, the project integrates a network of glamping pods and elevated treehouses within a circular site plan that blends private, communal, and wellness spaces. Each structure is carefully positioned to harmonize with the natural landscape, promote seasonal awareness, and support ecological stewardship. The design emphasizes sensory experience, cultural memory, and shared engagement, offering guests a luxurious yet environmentally conscious escape. It proposes a hospitality model where architecture becomes both refuge and reconnection, not just with place, but with self and community