Emotional architecture is an “experiential design” approach evoking all five senses simultaneously. Watching the waves crest and hearing the sound of the ocean, the smell of the salt air, the touch of the cool waves, and the taste of the brine stimulates our senses and provokes a response from deep within our subconsciousness. At RDHA, we strive for Architecture that looks good, feels, sounds, and smells good. We share a collective commitment to producing intoxicating Architecture + Interior Design. We carefully orchestrate an “experience-based journey,” resulting in an innovative design that resonates on a primal level.
We consciously modulate the spaces we create and purposely contrast the size and shape anthropomorphically to heighten the human experience further. We may go from an intimate, welcoming space to a physically larger, grander, celebratory space reinforcing the guest experience thru contrast and delight. The challenge is to marry the ideal programmatic needs with physical characteristics to enrich the area’s intended use. Add the presence or absence of light that can calm or animate the space and calibrate the temperature of the light- either cool or warm to exhilarate or soothe the guest. Touch also has a profound effect. Consider the weight, the heaviness of a solid 2″ thick 10 ft tall door vs. a transparent ½” glass panel that glides open easily creates a hugely different experience. Enliven that heavy door with a tall, ergonomically shaped wood door pull that requires you to exert considerable effort to pass from one threshold to another. We combine these dualistic choices to enhance the desired experience we wish guests to have.
Our awareness and the affordability to build a healthier environment is launching “wellness design” to a larger audience and becoming more mainstream. The spa and wellness industry needs to be early adopters of these healthy principles by integrating these well-being concepts into their architecture and interiors to benefit their guests, clients, and staff. Some strategies are highly affordable.
This experiential journey and creating a memory are our design obsessions – emotional architecture.
Read The Spa House- Water, Light, Peace, Tranquility
Robert Henry
roberthenry@rdh-architects.com
www.rdh-architects.com
212.533.4145
