Set within approximately 48 acres of forested land in Bancroft, Ontario, Whispering Forest is conceived as a homestead, wellness retreat and evolving forest sanctuary rooted in sustainable living and a close relationship with the land.

The homestead forms the first phase and catalyst for a broader long term vision. The property has been planned to accommodate future wellness and retreat programming, guest accommodations, shared facilities, productive landscapes and supporting infrastructure, allowing the destination to grow incrementally while maintaining a cohesive relationship between architecture, landscape and operations.

The design emerged from Ece and Ivan's ambition to live more closely with the rhythms of the land, growing food, observing wildlife and creating spaces for rest, gathering and connection with nature. Natural materials and hands on craft are central to the architecture, including shou sugi ban wood cladding charred and finished by the owners using timber harvested from a neighbouring property.

Sustainability extends beyond the building itself. The project integrates well and septic servicing, on site renewable energy generation, passive solar orientation, thermally robust assemblies, high efficiency windows and concrete thermal mass. A wood fuelled gasification boiler with propane backup provides heating, while a solar array supports off grid electrical operation. The broader site strategy considers servicing, water management, productive landscapes and future development together as an interconnected system.

Whispering Forest has also been an unusually collaborative project. As owner builders, Ece and Ivan have been directly involved in realizing the architecture, with Marenco Architects providing design and strategic guidance as the vision has progressed from planning through construction and operation.

Today, the homestead is built and Whispering Forest is operational, establishing the foundation from which the larger retreat vision can continue to evolve over time.

This version does something important for your website: it presents the project as architecture plus land planning plus infrastructure plus operations plus long term vision, which is much closer to what the work actually represents and to where Marenco's positioning has evolved.