Sculptural decor, soft furniture and warm tones feature in this wellness centre in New York City, created by Remedy Places’ in-house team as an antidote to traditional medical facilities.
Remedy Place is a membership-based health and wellness club situated within a 7,200-square-foot space in the Flatiron District of Manhattan.
“Our goal with every club is to bring back hospitality into healthcare and give an unparalleled experience like no other place in the world in our category,” Remedy Place cofounder Jonathan Leary told Dezeen.
“I wanted to create a club that positively enhances your physiology from the moment you walk in the door, from the aromatic rituals to the minimalistic and balanced design, materials, layout, furniture and lighting – it all has purpose behind it.”
According to Leary, the design is meant to have a positive effect on member wellness.
“It is designed to heal,” Leary explained. “Most health spaces such as hospitals and clinics have a negative physiological effect on the body – there’s something called ‘white coat syndrome’ where your body tenses up, heart rate increases,” he said.
“If you are not well and you enter an environment that is further having a negative impact on your body it only makes things worse,” he continued.
“Having an understanding of human psychology and physiology and then applying it to the design has made a huge impact and people feel it when they’re in the club.”
Members enter Remedy Place through a reception clad with walls of Venetian plaster that has dark-coloured leather seats arranged around a potted tree in the middle of the room.
On one side of the space, a bar serving healthy snacks is positioned opposite diner-style tables with bell-shaped pendant lamps above, while wooden shelving units filled with sculptural ornaments line the walls.
On the other side, a separate exercise room filled with yoga mats is enclosed in a glass box.
Running around the periphery of the room are floor-to-ceiling curtains in a dark grey hue, which can be drawn to keep the room out of view from the bustling lobby.
As well as offering chiropractic movement classes, the space houses everything from acupuncture baths, vitamin drips, a lymphatic infrared sauna and ice baths.
At the core of the design is a focus on providing health and wellness services for its members in a social environment. Lounges spread across the two-storey club can be used for work, gatherings or events.
Meanwhile, walls throughout the rest of the club are punctured by circular openings to promote interaction.
“Everything in the club, although you can do it by yourself, is designed to be experienced with someone else. We call it ‘social self-care’,” Leary said.
“We believe human connection is the most important form of self-care so we offer experiences that are ‘social substitutions’,” he continued.
“This is a new way to date, take meetings, hang out after work, have your birthday or even have a full-blown event.”
Remedy Place is just one of many a number of spaces that have popped up recently around the world in response to the growing demand for improved mental, spiritual or physical health.
The Manhattan location builds on the ethos found in its West Hollywood branch, which has a similarly dark colour scheme and plush furnishings.
Among them are Open Hearts by AB+AC Architects, a multifunctional wellness centre in Lisbon that doubles up as an artists’ residence and a lakeside retreat in Ontario by DesignAgency.
The photography is courtesy of Remedy Place.
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