How do you instill cultural specificity besides transplanting traditional motifs?
Inspired by the growing presence of local contemporary design while travelling in the ancient Thai city Chiangmai, the client wishes to create a new Thai spa in Shanghai with a similar vibe for a younger target age group, without resorting to just traditional elements.
We identified that this sense of contemporary Thai is shaped by a backdrop of ever present cultural presence, strokes of subtle contemporary appropriations, and lush tropical greens from the region.
Taking this optimism of reinterpreting tradition in a contemporary setting, we designed a pattern to establish an overarching cultural ambiance from which objects, furniture, and details can evolve from and materialize into a total spatial experience.
Experientially, in response to the basement location, we adopted white for the overall lightness in the transition spaces and shades of green to relate more to nature for the different spa spaces.
Spatially, the entry starts with a white foyer of hovering depths of patterns to first define the spa. The entry then branches out into a reception, a waiting area, and a corridor leading to various experiences. The white corridor begins as a public zone with green pockets of the shared experiences such as rest, food, and foot washing. Further down, a second foyer with similar hung patterns signals the transition into the private zone of different green treatment rooms. Inside the rooms, all details extend from the entry foyer elements to meld into one cohesive sensory journey.
The experience is both simple and rich, diverse and cohesive, and allows for cultural nuances and contemporary interpretations to exist in harmony.
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