KOHLER join forces with Architecture leaders Awards 2022 as the Wellness Sponsor
We are delighted to announce that KOHLER, the worldwide bathroom and kitchen leader, has partnered with the Architecture Leaders Awards 2022, which will be held on March 30 at Sofitel the Obelisk in Dubai.
Since 1873, Kohler Co. has been improving the level of gracious living by providing exceptional products and services for our customers’ homes and their lifestyles. We believe better business and a better world go hand-in-hand. Fuelled by the passion of more than 36,000 associates worldwide, strive to enhance the quality of life for current and future generations through design, craftsmanship and innovation.
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Wellness Blue | 2023 Color Trends
In the latest years the awareness of well being is heard world wide. Mind, body and spirit wealth is so significant, and so often pushed aside that sometimes seems easier taking than acting on it. But what if Wellness had a color?
According to the World Health Organization, mental wellness is defined as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”
Promoting mental wellness is helping someone to recognize there strength to intervene in their own life or mental health problems. Not an easy task, and sometimes a professional help is the best option. But in that cases should we sit down and wait? Hell no. For the 2023 Color Trend Trendbook selected one of the most hopeful, joyfully and calm color. Wellness blue. A color that promotes wellbeing, comfort feeling and so so so pure that match perfectly with the matter.
*Like what you’ve read about the 2023 Interior Design Trends? Feel free to share on your social media by using the super-easy share buttons on the left! If you want to see other decor and interior trends just click here.*| Don’t forget to follow us on our social media, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
** Trendbook does not own any of these photos.
Inspired by art deco, Form Hotel Dubai is a wellness hub
Traditional Arabic heritage. Spectacular cultural offerings. The Culture Village is an exciting place to be. And with so much to explore and experience, Form Hotel Dubai, Design Hotels’ first property in the region, is the perfect stepping board to experience it all.
With magnificent touches of elegance and a carefully curated concept that relives the origins of Dubai’s heritage, Form Hotel Dubai brings a unique and uncharted experience to the neighbourhood.
Sublime design? Check. Highly personalised? Check. A bespoke individual experience? Check. In a city long defined by over-the-top grandeur, there’s something refreshing about stepping into Form Hotel’s contemporary art deco-inspired interiors, brought to life by Paris-based Architecture Studio.
Everything here is custom-made. The brushed brass knobs. The polished art frames. The glistening marble countertops. The delightedly detailed wood paneling. It’s all luxurious no doubt, but it’s not blinding in-your-face luxury. There’s lot of white, perfectly punctuated with marble, brass, walnut wood furniture and few other colours.
And all guest rooms come with custom-crafted art and photography by Nina Dietzel, completing a sharp, tightly curated visual experience that is both contemporary and timeless.
The calming wellness driven concept is noticeable throughout, especially with their food and beverage outlet and terrace that boasts sustainable, good-for-you menus. Looking for relaxation? Take the ride up the elevator and you are greeted with a serene rooftop pool, offering stunning views over Al Jaddaf’s boatyards, private yoga sessions and much more. There’s also Salũs Housetop, a designer sky lounge with great seating and even better mocktails.
With an emphasis on well-being, a carefully curated design and an array of visual experiences and moods, there is a discreet yet instantly timeless allure to Form Hotel Dubai, one that’s completely in sync with the heritage of Culture Village.
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The interiors of ZAAZ Wellness & Beauty by VSHD Design are inspired by Moroccan and Berber heritage
ZAAZ Wellness & Beauty is a spa located in Dubai’s Jumeirah neighbourhood designed by interior design firm VSHD Design Dubai. Set across two floors, its interiors are reflective of Moroccan and Berber heritage combined with minimalistic modern design elements.
A homegrown brand with a mission to offer beauty and wellness treatments from Morocco in a harmonious and calming environment, ZAAZ uses top-of-the-line beauty products and organic skin oils and creams sourced from Morocco. Traditional Moroccan and Berber architectural and design elements can be found throughout the spa, dressing each space in a look inherent to Moroccan culture and history, with a particular focus on elements from southern Morocco.
The design of ZAAZ, which took 12 months to complete, required the sourcing of specific material, custom-design elements, and heritage items, including Tadelakt, a waterproof plaster made in Morocco for the hammam on the second floor; and specially made Zellij tiles, which can be found throughout the spa offering an authentic experience of a spa in Morocco. A distinct feature of ZAAZ is its simplicity. The design of the spa provides a taste of Morocco in a discreet manner without an uproar of embellishment and instead focuses on the beauty of the materials, the lighting, lines, and proportions inherent in each spa. The spa upholds Morocco’s aesthetic traditions and heritage as well as its renowned beauty rituals through a minimalistic design rich in materials that offers a sense of peace, serenity, and escape.
Photo credit: Oculis Project
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WELLNESS TRENDS POST COVID-19 – Design Middle East
Experts on how spas, salons, and other wellness centres would look in the post- COVID-19 world
The post-COVID-19 world would see major changes in the designs and structures of various spaces. One of the most popular aspects of the retail sector is the salons and salons which would witness some major design overhaul. Along with the design changes, there would be strict sanitisation process in place. In the hospitality sector, most wellness facilities have started focussing more than before on hygiene and creating dedicated areas for sanitisation.
Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO at The Wellness, one of the leading companies in providing spa and pools consultancy services in the region, shares: “As the wellness specialists we always put hygiene as one of the most vital considerations that influence our design. However, this now gained additional importance due to the current situation and the pandemic that we are living. There would be dedicated areas focusing on sanitisation. Reference to such requirements can be found in medical facilities, of course, these requirements for a wellness facility will never be as extreme as a clinic, however, it provides clear directions for the future spa design in general.”
Ibrahim further explains: “Moreover, a design approach to fit the current situation is to create more of an independent room (en-suite solutions) including most of the facilities needed for individuals, to ensure proper social distancing is kept, however the space availability and the revenue generation spaces will be quite challenging. Additionally, we have been researching with various companies to find new wellness experiences, which could be done as self-service, by the use of technology. I can see private wellness concepts will see a spike, where people will be having their own private spa, gym, pool, and kids’ concepts in their private homes.”
Good design has always been the marriage between aesthetic and functionality but it’s now more important than ever to create spaces that are safe and reliable apart from being stunningly designed. Mihir Sanganee, design director at Design Smith, says: “This is an exceptional challenge for a multitude of industries like retail and hospitality where spaces have conventionally been planned to capture and cajole all senses of the consumer – touch is as important as, if not more, than sight. For the wellness sector, I believe there is a ‘pent-up’ demand among consumers to book themselves a massage or aromatherapy session. However, safety and hygiene will be the key success factors for spas and salons to survive and thrive in this day and age.”
Front of such spaces should be de-cluttered to offer a stress-free check-in and check-out experience – this does translate to the exclusion of lounging areas used between appointments to avoid unnecessary exposure to other visitors. Extending the appointment of sessions completely online will also help minimise human contact between staff members and customers.
Now more than ever, spas and wellness centres need to showcase their hygiene practices to their clients – wiping down surfaces, sanitising tools and purifying the air have moved from ‘back-office’ functions to consumer-facing protocols. Consequently, spaces need to be designed that showcase this safe environment without looking too clinical or sterile.
“The lack of human touch or interaction shouldn’t make the trip to the spa any less indulgent or impersonal – it won’t be about the specific details of the treatment or the breath of your services. It will be about your brand’s story you’re bringing to life and who is behind these experiences that are safely being offered,” adds Sanganee.
COVID-19 has brought about transformational changes beyond human imagination. Like anything new and at a large scale, the virus’ roots have run deep into modern society. It has affected the understanding of social interaction, the economy, and is now pivoting the way industries operate.
Nisreen Kayyali, managing partner and lead architect at Nisreen Kayyali Consulting Engineers, says: “Wellness centres of tomorrow will need to incorporate health and hygiene as a key tenet of their blueprint. Form and function will meet with the incorporation of easy-to-clean materials like glass and metal, as opposed to traditional soft and porous materials like wallpaper, dry walls, acoustic ceiling tiles, carpets, and bricks. Walls will have a hygienic coating that makes them resistant to changes in temperature and insensitive to cleaning chemicals. Hygienic paint contains an antimicrobial treatment, which reduces the risk of space growing mold and fungus.” A traditionally calming design feature at spas and wellness centres, water features like static ponds will become less common, given their tendency to become a breeding ground for disease-causing mosquitoes and insects. “Technology and nature will collaborate for human health and happiness, in the near future. Touch and voice-activated technology will eliminate the need to come into contact with public door handles, elevator buttons, and more,” tells Kayyali. In the post-pandemic world, the consumer universe will have to focus on being strikingly visual – this doesn’t translate to using an overwhelming palette of colours, patterns, and textures. Ibrahim concludes: “It means using methods like VR, branding and in-store spatial flows to create boundaryless channel integrations. Another aspect I foresee changing is wayfinding. Signage will now innately include social-distance markers, one-way flows, and health regulatory guidelines.”
Yas Island awarded WTTC ‘Safe Travels’ stamp for its comprehensive wellness program
Yas Island has been awarded the coveted World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) ‘Safe Travels’ stamp, marking the first destination in Abu Dhabi to receive the international honour.
Launched recently by the WTTC who represent the global Travel & Tourism private sector, the global safety and hygiene stamp has been awarded to major holiday destinations around the world to enable travellers to identify destinations and businesses that have adopted its health and hygiene global standardised protocols. These protocols include providing consistency and guidance to travel providers and travellers about the new approach to health, hygiene, deep cleansing and physical distancing in the ‘new normal’ of COVID-19 world. So far the stamp has been awarded to key tourist destinations such as Turkey, Mauritius, Portugal, Vienna, and Saudi Arabia, and is seen as a key catalyst in the speedy recovery of the Travel & Tourism sector.
Yas Island has received the recognition for the implementation of its comprehensive wellness program, which, in addition to enhanced hygiene and social distancing measures, has included the launch of the #TogetheratYas technology platform and the appointment of Yas Wellness Ambassadors.
#TogetheratYas is an online platform offering clear comprehensive guidance on safety measures and a one-stop shop for all the fun experience on Yas Island.
Expo 2020 Dubai uses pioneering wellness wearables to help improve workers’ safety
Expo 2020 Dubai is creating a new roadmap to help future major construction projects and mega-events lift safety standards thanks to its pioneering Worker Wellness Programme, a massive project to measure workers’ health and well-being using the latest wearable wellness technology.
The first phase of the programme ran for 30 months from October 2017, using Whoop wearable wrist-strap wellness devices for round-the-clock measuring of construction workers’ well-being on the Expo 2020 site. A total of 5,540 workers participated on a voluntary basis, with the project focusing on preventative health through monitoring and reporting, health treatment, and health research.
The programme forms part of Expo 2020’s wider approach to worker welfare and health and safety, designed to set new benchmarks for major construction projects and mega-events in the region and beyond, and leave a positive legacy long after Expo 2020 closes its doors on 31 March 2022.
Rashid Mohammed, Deputy Chief Operations Officer, Expo 2020, said: “Given the number of workers on site, this programme is unique – we haven’t come across any other project that tracks human physiology at this scale. The data gathered will form part of the legacy that Expo 2020 leaves the world, taking us one step closer to predictive models that can save lives.”
In tandem, medical experts from Expo 2020’s on-site Emergency Centre carried out 1,467 preventative screenings for workers whose reports highlighted any potential underlying condition, with appropriate treatment given to those found to have a health issue.
Will Ahmed, Founder and CEO, Whoop, said: “Construction is one of the biggest sectors in the world, yet from a health monitoring standpoint these sites are being developed in the same way as 200 years ago. By using Whoop technology, we can understand what it will take to prevent injuries and to make a workforce healthier. All of this will lead to a better and safer working environment for construction workers from around the world.”
More than 13 terabytes of data have been collected via the wellness wearable devices, and this huge amount of information is forming the basis for research by internationally recognised academics from the UAE’s University of Sharjah. The research focuses on cardiovascular health and sleep disorders, with the overarching aim to inform the future of worker wellness and ensure the well-being of construction workforces at future major construction sites and mega-events.
Toufik Refki, Director, Worker Wellness Programme, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “Our construction workers are the lifeblood of Expo 2020, and their safety and welfare are overriding priorities for us. Through this programme, we are able to shed more light on the health habits, routines and needs of construction workers and help create a safer workplace for them.”
The technology used in the programme was developed by Expo 2020 in collaboration with American fitness tech company Whoop. The wellness wearable ‘Whoop Straps’, regularly used by elite athletes around the world, have been adapted to the needs of construction workers – with a bespoke charging/syncing system devised to collect data daily during their lunch breaks, and printed reports provided to all participants in multiple languages.