Client: Salina Handa and Majid Al Futtaim Group
Interior design: Roar (Designers: Pallavi Dean, Ana Carreras, Luisa Bresolin)
Flooring: Bolon
Wall textured paint: Artemis
Wallpaper: Maya Romanoff
Fabrics and upholstery: Carniege
Mesh glass: Mirodec
Sanitaryware: Gessi
Photo credits: The Oculis Project
A monumental, relaxing space for care of the body and the spirit: it’s the Sensasia Stories spa in Dubai, inside the Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates. The interiors are by the designer Pallavi Dean, with her studio Roar, who says: “The design process of Sensasia Stories has been an exercise in moderation for me. We intentionally wanted to avoid overloading the senses; this is a place of peace, calm and meditation. The interior scheme – pale and dark shades of gray, mixed with warm wood finishes and the textures of stone – allows you to just be.”
Creativity came into play with just three main materials and colors: “Gray stone and slate, brown tones in the luxurious vinyl flooring, natural patterns on wallcoverings with a jute finish. The interior design pivots around this range of materials: it is layered with patterns. This helps the acoustics and the tactile aspects – a space designed for all the senses.”
A spa of almost 400 square meters with eight treatment rooms, a suite for couples, a hammam, emotional showers, an ice fountain, herbal saunas, Turkish baths, a hydromassage tub and virtual reality visors, which can be incorporated in the treatments to offer a personalized fantasy or guided meditation, transporting clients to the world’s most beautiful destinations.
A project that reinterprets Pan-Asian architecture with a contemporary twist. “We looked for inspiration in countries like Thailand, Bali and Vietnam. The arches are a key characteristic of this type of architecture, so we have emphasized them, creating large LED-lighted arches over the lobbies, and we have incorporated decorative elements with the same shape around the shelving in the reception area, to create a theatrical, evocative frame. Another important architectural statement is the parametric form of the façade. The spa is unusual because it has two entrances: one from the hotel, the other from the shopping mall, and this part has been designed to attract passing clients.”
