Have you ever happened to roll a strip of paper between your fingers? Have you ever transformed a flat piece of card into a spiral curve?
That’s what I was thinking of when I decided to use honeycomb polycarbonate panels as the main material of a project for a wellness centre. This is an industrial material manufactured in rectangular sheets, which are normally used to create flat surfaces and rigid geometries. But I wanted to change, and use them in a different way by curving the panels as though they were strips of paper, so as to generate a pleasing sculptural effect in the interior of the wellness centre.
In the project, a curving translucent ribbon occupies the central space. This space can be divided by retractable curtains into four sectors: three cabins for massage and one for pedicures. The polycarbonate makes it impossible to see into the cabins, making them private but allowing the light to pass through. This makes the central body of the space seem like a living organ, particularly in the evening when the iridescent light from the chromotherapy simulates a kind of pulse.
The front part of the wellness centre is a large open space, with a long display case that traverses the whole space. This area contains the reception and a bench in the waiting area, opposite the manicure table. The curved shapes of these elements are set off one against the other. The extreme repetition of curved shapes generate a dynamic space that encourages customers to move and walk around.
The western part of the space is dedicated to hair care. On the wall is the styling station, with four seats, and a rectangular mirror which, in a virtual sense, projects the display case beyond the wall. To the left of the styling station are two backwash shampoo units.
The light fittings have been positioned in accordance with three principles: the rectangular fittings follow the curve of the internal routes, those in the massage area are distributed on a grid, and those in the reception area are composed as groups.
