In the mountainous heart of Costa Rica’s Central Volcanic range, a pathbreaking health and wellness destination is combining ancestral wisdom and vibrational technology to reclaim true wellbeing. Nestled in the rainforest adjacent to Arenal Volcano National Park, the Vessyl Experience is a multi-disciplinary, cutting-edge, therapeutic resort, and Archisoul was engaged to design its flagship sound healing facility – the Vessyl Frequency Dome.
This striking domed structure is designed to function as an immersive sound and light sanctuary. With a copper-clad 12m exterior and internal diameter, the dome houses six 9K projectors and floor-embedded speakers within a sprung timber floor, creating a fully enveloping four-dimensional experience unlike anything built before it.
The brief called for a building that could hold space for alternative healing modalities, drawing on sacred geometry: the shapes and proportions traditionally understood to support the body and mind through transformation.
Within the Frequency Dome, immersive technology becomes part of the wellness experience itself. The space hosts sonic healing, guided meditation and breathwork, consciousness mapping, vibrational yoga and personalised quantum sessions, alongside evening productions that combine projected imagery, spatial sound, light and vibration. The integrated projection system, surround audio and vibrational floor allow each activity to become a multi-sensory experience, transforming the dome from a movement and meditation space into a holistic healing and performance environment.
The Frequency Dome is designed to sit within the jungle canopy rather than against it. It is carefully situated to take advantage of natural clearings and existing pathways, minimising disruption to the local environment. Materially, it is informed by the organic properties of stone and copper, allowing it to discreetly settle into the surrounding landscape over time.
The copper cladding pictured in these images has the bright sheen of brand new copper, which is how it looked when it was initially completed. But the dome’s appearance is changing rapidly as it interacts with the site’s distinctive atmospheric conditions. Thanks to the humid, volcanic air, the copper has already developed a deep bistre patina in the few months since construction – a process that would normally take several years.
At this accelerated pace, the dome will naturally turn green within a couple of years as it acquires the verdigris patina of aged copper, providing a subtle complement to its verdant rainforest setting.
Sacred geometry is embedded into the core of the design, letting the architecture do quiet, invisible work in service of the therapies unfolding within it. With this world-first design, Archisoul has delivered a space of structural healing, expanding the possibilities of wellness architecture.
The Vessyl Frequency Dome is part of the Vessyl Experience, an AKEN Soul Conscious Luxury resort.
To learn more about this project and the guest experience, read: What’s It Like to Stay At The World’s First 4D Sound Wellness Resort.
Project Summary
Overview: Multi-use frequency dome within a pioneering health and wellness resort in Costa Rica.
Brief: Design an immersive, multi-sensory healing space incorporating light, sound and vibration to support alternative healing modalities and multi-media performance.
Challenges: Remote site in a foreign jurisdiction; requirement to integrate and support sophisticated technology; high-humidity, volcanic, rainforest environment.
Budget: Premium
Architectural response: World-first, unique structure designed to support 4D, multi-sensory healing modalities within an eco-wellness resort. Embedding sacred geometry into the core of the design, the Frequency Dome integrates sustainable materials and cutting-edge technology to create a one-of-a-kind, multi-purpose space.
Sustainability measures: The Frequency Dome is sited along existing pathways and clearings to minimise its impact on the landscape. Material selection is guided by sustainability and longevity in the context of the local climate and environmental conditions. Due to copper’s accelerated ageing in sulfide-rich volcanic air, the dome will naturally acquire a verdigris patina within the space of a few years, ensuring that it quickly settles into the surrounding verdant rainforest.
Architect: Jo Gillies
Architectural Renders: Paris Pirello
Project completion: June 2026