Amassa

Architect: Bindloss Dawes
Location: France
Type: Wellness
Year: 2025
Photographs: Ellen Christine Hancock

The following description is courtesy of the architects. Bindloss Dawes has unveiled Amassa, a cluster of agricultural buildings that have been transformed into a new wellness retreat in rural South West France. With broad vistas towards the Pyrenees, Amassa invites guests to reconnect to the outdoors, showcasing a more mindful approach to destination travel.

Working closely with clients Tania and Ben, experienced founders of a yoga studio in South East London, Bindloss Dawes wanted to produce a serene and relaxing place to bring visitors closer to nature. The brief demanded a respectful approach to the site, simultaneously repairing the historic buildings and crafting a suite of uplifting spaces to encourage guests to disconnect and embrace the slower pace of their surroundings.

Once a small rural hamlet, the site has undergone a careful restoration, with considered repairs to several farm buildings such as a piggery, bakery, and tractor shed. Amassa, announces a clean departure from its original use and is now reinvigorated by areas that host physical activity and promote relaxation, including two outdoor swimming pools, a treatment room, several lounge areas and communal dining areas.

Central to the project is the bold restoration of a large, three-hundred-year-old stone and timber barn, now at the heart of the retreat’s masterplan. Bindloss Dawes proposed a series of in-situ concrete interventions, including a large west-facing opening, simultaneously stabilising the end wall and framing spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.

During the design process, the main challenge was to sensitively restore the barn without altering its unique character. Bindloss Dawes repaired the walls with minimal alteration, keeping the rawness of the original stonework on show and celebrating all of Amassa’s blemishes.

Similarly, the roof was repaired and insulated without altering the original structure, replacing the linings with new rough-sawn sarking board. Externally traditional pantiles were laid over rigid insulation, all whilst preserving the delicate timber framework beneath.

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While a sense of community instructs the whole of the site, tranquility is central to the design of Amassa’s barn. The principal ground floor space reaches up into its high roof, with seven-metre eaves and a ten-metre ridge, imparting a monastic quality that adds to its sense of calm, and offering a moment’s pause from the day’s course ahead.

A new concrete mezzanine floor appears to be suspended between the outer walls, creating a secondary breakout space for further events and workshops, floating within the rafters of the restored roof.

Taking advantage of the barn’s west-facing orientation, Bindloss Dawes introduced a large four-metre-high opening, which collects rich hues and warm evening light deep within the room. The opening is framed in cast concrete, and like the poured concrete floor, contrasts with the original rough stone walls.

The half-metre-thick walls and new concrete elements provide thermal mass, keeping the space cool in summer, as well as absorbing sound and creating excellent acoustics. These calm, sensory characteristics all add to what makes this an ideal space for guests to retreat to.

Amassa hosts regular retreats focused on wellbeing, through physical and creative activities such as yoga, pilates, arts and handmade crafts. The regenerated site provides space for people to gather and share meals prepared by chefs who use fresh, seasonal produce from the local markets to nourish guests.

Amassa embodies Bindloss Dawes’ deep understanding of delivering contemporary design within historic sites, to reestablish a fresh narrative between fabric and context. Bindloss Dawes has transformed Amassa into a timeless retreat that will uniquely resonate with each individual that experiences it.

Oliver Bindloss, Director, Bindloss Dawes said:

“We approached the project with a desire to preserve and retain the beautiful character of the original hamlet of buildings. However, when it came to the barn which was dark and with only two existing openings a bolder approach was needed to reinvigorate and open up the space to sunlight and views.”

“We worked closely with the local builder who is a master stonemason and his team who repaired all the stone walls as well as making the in situ-concrete interventions which sits so well next to the rawness of the original stone.”

Tania and Ben, Clients said:

“Amassa in the ancient local language of Occitan means to gather. Amassa aims to bring people together, to pause and take time for reconnecting and rebalancing. It is a place that encourages people to slow down, commune, and rejuvenate whilst staying in beautiful buildings, surrounded by nature. In this case, Bindloss Dawes were a natural choice for us, capable of reinvigorating historic contexts, enhancing Amassa’s connection to the rural landscape. They listened to every aspect of our brief, and were able to adapt it further. Our new retreat is private and tranquil, yet surprising and vibrant. We look forward to hosting and sharing the new space for many years to come.”

Project Details

• Location: South West France
• Project size: 250 square metres
• Construction began: Summer 2022
• Completion: Winter 2023 / 2024
• Client: Tania and Ben
• Architect: Bindloss Dawes
• Structural Engineer: B.E.T Cerato
• Contractor: Sarl Bordes - Julian
• Photographer: © Ellen Christine Hancock