Part of what makes architectural optical illusions so fun is the sheer size of them. Outside of extensive installations, few museum pieces can really compete with an illusory work of art as monumental as a building. It?s especially gratifying when the buildings are actually functional, too, and not just decorative objects to look at.

But each of these buildings is actually set upon a faceted, mirrored modern plinth, which themselves reflect various scenes around the property. Depending on the angle of the facet, that might be the red earth, the blue sky, or the faint gray mountains. Floating concrete staircases connect the buildings to the ground, and a long walkway leads into a striking subterranean geodesic dome conceived as a place for meditation.
?Santulan? means ?balance? in Hindi, explains lead architect José Antonio de los Santos Bolívar, and that word is the guiding concept used for the development of the entire complex. The architect wanted the hotel to be both a tourist destination and an example of a culture of respect and balance with the ecosystem, both from visitors and from the architecture itself.

In addition to using blocks of compacted earth as a main building material, the hotel includes other ecologically sensitive features like greywater recycling wetlands, a fog catcher tower to capture water from the air, low-maintenance green roofs planted with native grasses, an organic orchard, low-water landscaping, and a natural cross-v...