Chiang Mai is the origin of Thai ancient massage and SPA. The design is based on the red bricks of Chiang Mai’s ancient city wall, and the staggered structure of water features echoes with the tropical greenery that appears unexpectedly.
The water shadow and glistening which are reflected on the city wall. When people enter the space, it’s like being in the ancient capital of Lanna, forgetting the dust of the world for a moment.
The overall space is dominated by loess colours. The vintage materials, such as red bricks, thin rock slabs, terrazzo, red dyed fabrics, earthy red antique tiles, are all blended in the same colour palette, depicting the marks of the ancient city of Lanna.
There are Chiang Mai’s local wood carvings, a variety of herbs and utensils, rattan furniture and screen partitions, linen-dyed hanging curtains, and water lamps floating on the water mist and other soft furnishings.
All of them are hiding among tropical plants and outline the local life atmosphere in the past. The dim earth-red space emits lemongrass aromatherapy scent. The sound of birds chirping and running water echoes infinitely.
Designed with care, it mobilises the visual, smell and auditory senses to calm down and plunge into the quiet tranquillity of the ancient city. Let body slowly enter the prelude to the ancient SPA journey.
The sunlight penetrates into the pool through the slits in the wooden shutters, reflecting on the tropical plants and dyed fabrics, melting into the water mist. It helps to pull the memory back to that side of the dust.
The entrance pre-entry room, which serves as a waiting area and display area, is isolated from the noisy sounds of the outdoor street. The light is reflected on the red brick walls through the blurred transparency of the round windows and the reeded glass of the gate.
A footbath with a rainforest water feature, topped with white wisteria flowers and clouds infinitely refracted through mirrors. It feels like being in an ancient garden. The lounge area smells of lemongrass.
Listening to the sound of running water, a regular dark brown herbal bottle is used as a half-partition. This echoes the rattan furniture, which makes the most of the space while retaining a spacious view. The top of the staircase is deliberately lowered to set up a staggered red-brick pool, which enhances the sense of shuttling between the buildings of the ancient city.
The overflowing clouds at the top float down slowly, changing constantly as people walk. Stepping on the soft carpet to the first floor, the design deliberately creates sensory illusions through mirrors, transparent glass, heavy curtains and semi-transparent blinds, as well as switching between different textures on the ground. It makes people lose themselves in the environment and focus only on their own feelings at the moment.
The massage room and spa room use heavy curtains and dim lighting to provide the privacy and security. Leaving space blank could allow people to close their eyes and devote themselves to the physical journey of Thai spa. Source by DDDD Creative Company.
- Location: 8-101, Nantou City, Nanshan District, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China
- Architect: DDDD Creative Company
- Chief designer: John Sun
- Design team: Renee Zhu, Herb Lau
- Owner: Shenzhen Sukhumvit Culture Communication Co.
- Area: 662m2
- Completion Date: August 2023
- Photographs: YUUUUNSTUDIO, Courtesy of DDDD Creative Company
