Spa and wellness space design
Guests do not read the drawings. They feel the light, the sound, the scent and the temperature, in that order.
Scope
We can join at any stage, though the cost of joining late is paid in ceiling voids and drainage falls.
- Concept. The idea of the place, tested against the guest mix and the operating model.
- Schematic. Layout, flow, zoning, wet and dry separation, and back-of-house that works at shift change.
- Detail. Materials, finishes, junctions, lighting scheme and acoustic treatment resolved for tender.
- FF&E. Beds, vessels, loungers, linens and equipment specified, costed and scheduled.
- Site support. Site visits, contractor queries, sample approvals, snagging and handover.
Two routes, one floor
An illustrative plan, not a client's. Guests and therapists reach the same treatment bed from opposite doors, and neither walks the other's corridor.
Drag the drawing to turn it.
Guest route
Arrival, changing, relaxation, heat and water, the cooling terrace, a pause in relaxation, then the treatment room by its front door.
Therapist route
Staff entrance, staff room, the service corridor and a pass through linen, then the same treatment room by its back door. Plant sits behind the corridor, away from the beds.
Sensory design
Five channels, specified as deliberately as the floor plan.
Heat, steam and cooling are sequenced as one experience. A guest should never have to ask where to go next, or wonder why the room got colder.
Light
Levels that fall as the guest moves inward. No downlight above a face-up treatment bed, ever.
Sound
Isolation first, then what you add. Plant noise and neighbouring rooms are designed out before any track is chosen.
Scent
A scent line from threshold to treatment room, held at a level a therapist can work in for eight hours.
Temperature
Setpoints per zone for an undressed guest, not an office. Heat experiences sequenced with somewhere to cool.
Material
Surfaces chosen for how they feel underfoot and wet, and for how they survive a daily chlorine wipe-down.
Working with your architect
We come in as the wellness specialist on an existing team, not as a second architect. The architect holds the building. We hold the spa brief, and we give them the wet-area loads, drainage falls, ventilation rates, ceiling voids and acoustic separations early enough to be built rather than retrofitted.
For mechanical and electrical teams we issue a wellness services schedule: humidity targets, water treatment, heat experience plant, and the power and drainage each treatment room needs.
Common questions
What developers and architects ask before appointing us.
At what stage should a spa designer join the project?
Before the structure is fixed. Wet-area loads, drainage falls, ventilation rates, ceiling voids and acoustic separation are cheap to design in and expensive to retrofit. We can join later, but the cost of joining late is paid in ceiling voids and drainage falls.
Do you replace our architect?
No. We come in as the wellness specialist on an existing team. The architect holds the building; we hold the spa brief and issue the wellness services schedule that the mechanical and electrical team builds to.
What does sensory design actually specify?
Five channels, each with numbers attached: lighting levels and positions, acoustic isolation targets, a scent line from threshold to treatment room, temperature setpoints per zone for an undressed guest, and material choices tested wet and underfoot.
Can you work on an existing spa rather than a new build?
Yes. Refits and repositioning are common. We usually start with an audit of the operating spa, then design the changes in the order that returns money soonest, so the property can stage the work around trading.