On the one hand, we’re living in an era of unprecedented access to information about our physical and mental states. The early pedometers have given way to fully functional smart watches, bands and rings that offer myriad sensors all jostling for non-invasive ways of working out your levels of stress, blood oxygen level and much more besides.

On the other hand, this deluge of personal data effectively acts as the gamification of wellness, great for the target-driven, not so much for the information averse. Be warned: you get into this stuff at your peril. Heaven only knows how medical professions cope when faced with patients who are positively brimming with often dubiously sourced data.

And still they come. These pros and cons haven’t stopped us from taking a look to see what’s currently on offer for the stats-minded, health-conscious tech consumer, from smart chairs to sleep machines, gut health monitors and air purifiers.

Woojer Vibroacoustic Therapy Mat

Described as a ‘Foldable High-Fidelity Haptic Mattress Topper’, the bottom line is that this is the latest way for Woojer to bring their vibration-based therapeutic tech into the home. More convenient than their wearable vest and more immersive than the Woojer Strap, the Mat sends pulses through the entire body (or ‘spa-level vibroacoustic therapy’) that translate music and soundscapes into a soothing, mild massage.

This haptic approach to healing is bolstered by Woojer’s own suite of wellness sessions. The Mat is made from breathable fabric and can be folded away for storage, doubling up as a way of bolstering and amplifying the feel of music and movies when it’s not being used to soothe.

Woojer Mat, £671

Lingo Glucose Monitor

Lingo isn’t the first biowearable in town, but it’s one of the newest. Freshly available on Android in addition to iOS, the system follows the now-familiar route of an arm-worn biosensor that works in harmony with an app to track glucose levels.

For some, keeping track of glucose is an essential daily routine; others just like to get an insight into the relationship between eating, drinking, sleeping and exercise, and what changes in diet, nutrition and rest can do to elevate our overall well-being.

Lingo, more information at HelloLingo.com, @HelloLingo

Diesel x Ultrahuman Smart Ring

Smart rings are the most discrete mode of health tracking to date. Market leader Ultrahuman has now teamed up with Diesel to give their smart ring a touch more style and personality. In addition to a red Diesel base charger, there are two styles of Diesel ring, silver and black, both bearing the brand’s Double D logo. Metrics tracked include quality of sleep, step count, calories, and heart rate, with around 4 to 6 days of battery life and no subscription required.

Oral-B iO10 Gold Special Edition Toothbrush

Oral-B have given their flagship electric toothbrush a sparkling makeover for the seasonal market. The iO10 Gold Special Edition comes in Lunar Gold and features the company’s ‘Smart Adapt Technology’, a clever way adjusting cleaning intensity on the fly depending on how hard you’re brushing.

There’s app connectivity as well, which not only serves up handy brushing timers but warns of impending brush head replacements. Toothbrushing routines are effectively gamified via the new displays and icons on the toothbrush itself, whilst the travel case will also keep the toothbrush charged when you’re on the move.

Any mention of high-tech toothbrushes must be offset by a mention of the Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush (TrySuri.com), a worthy recipient of the Best Sustainable Step Forward for the Home in the 2025 Wallpaper* Smart Space Awards.

Sans Air Purifier Mini

Air purification in its most compact form comes courtesy of the Sans Air Purifier Mini, now available in two more accommodating shades (from early 2026), the neutral Sand and muted green Agave, in addition to the regular black and white. The Mini, which sits alongside a larger model designed for whole home use, will work in rooms up to 490 square feet, capturing stray pet hair and banishing dust, with medical-grade filtration that’s a boon for allergy sufferers of all stripes.

Sans also provides a sleek Water Purifier, a countertop kitchen gadget that uses four-stage reverse osmosis (as opposed to traditional carbon or ceramic filtration), removing impurities via a semi-permeable membrane.

Aiora Chair by DavidHugh

A chair that promises to bring the instant benefits of meditation without a lifetime of training seems like a no-brainer for desk workers. The Aiora chair works by negating all feelings of weight thanks to a system of planar motion mechanics, effectively the user feels as if they are floating.

By disassociating the brain from having to solve the issue of balance, DavidHugh’s research shows that internal sensory awareness is radically enhanced. ‘It is so sensitive, in fact, that the simple act of breathing can lift the whole body,’ the company claims.

Physically, Aiora is precisely engineered, as you’d expect, combining Kvadrat wool-blend fabrics (or Muirhead leather, depending on specification and model) with aluminium and steel. The chair’s structure and upholstery use a modular design approach that is fully repairable and upgradeable, with the ‘basic’ Monochrome model, the multi-coloured Soul model and the leather-trimmed Signature version offering different finish options.

Aiora chair by DavidHugh, from £5,700, DavidHugh.com

Withings Body Scan Smart Scales

If you don’t want to carry a set of sensors around with you in the form of a ring or watch, the next best thing is a set of body scanning smart scales from Withings. The company’s flagship Body Scan model promises a full body screening in just 90 seconds, thanks to the integrated sensor handle that enables the device to monitor up to 40 different parameters.

How you use that data is up to you, with instant syncing to the Withings app – regardless of whether or not you have a Withings smartwatch – a full colour display and the ability to store eight different personal profiles.

To get the most out of the unit, you’ll need a full subscription to the Withings+ service, with its ability to monitor and decode various markers over time, make active suggestions, flag up issues and dovetail with any fitness or recovery programs you’re undertaking.

Ultrahuman Home Sleep Monitor

Like a bedside Mac Mini, the Ultrahuman Home is a sensor-stuffed anodized aluminium box that serves up environment and sleep data. The former includes air quality monitoring, sound and motion detection, alongside UV and light exposure and more.

Again, this is a device best served by a subscription, but devourers of data will be thrilled to discover a carefully maintained log of their breathing patterns during sleep (including coughing and snoring), alongside an analysis of air quality, light levels, temperature and humidity and hopefully a deep dive you’re your circadian rhythms. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, perhaps, but the Ultrahuman Home doesn’t hold back on the details.

Dekoda by Kohler Health

Yet more intimate data can be gleaned by the installation of Dekoda from Kohler Health, the new venture from the long-standing American sanitaryware specialists (founded in 1873). Dekoda is a sensor pack that attaches to the side of a toilet cistern and scans the contents of the bowl once you’ve done your business.

The resulting data can reveal insight into hydration and even provide early warning of more serious medical conditions like bowel cancer. A remote wall-mounted fingerprint scanner allows multiple profiles to be tracked, whilst the all-important app and subscription is required to keep track of the data you, shall we say, produce.

Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds

Soundcore’s new Sleep A30 model is ergonomically shaped to be better suited for sleeping than conventional earbuds. In addition to the form factor, the A30s include active noise cancelling that can tune out unwelcome noises like snoring, whilst also generating binaural ‘brainwave audio’ to aid getting to sleep in the first place. Custom soundscapes are also on offer, as is blissful, sound-cancelled silence.

In Cologne, Ferdinand Stahl and his uncle – architect Thomas van den Valentyn, known for his work on the renovation of the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl – have unveiled a new workspace: Valentyns. This is no ordinary office: it features lighting that mimics natural daylight, acoustic wall and ceiling panels to minimise noise, and swoon-worthy Le Corbusier and USM Haller furniture. Members have access to breath-work and yoga sessions, cold plunges, Finnish and infrared saunas, HydraFacials and IV drips. In short, Valentyns is reimagining the office as somewhere – well – pleasant, reflected in the fact that, since moving in, members have reported a 30 per cent drop in sick days. ‘We create spaces that actively support regeneration,’ says Stahl. ‘It’s not enough to eliminate stressors – we need to create spaces where stress can be discharged.’

In London, a $2 billion mixed-use development, The Round, is currently under construction. It aims to become the UK’s first to achieve the WELL Community Gold Standard – a benchmark for healthy communities. As such, it will feature more than 30,000 sq ft of wellness-focused facilities, including gyms, pools, hot/cold therapy rooms, napping pods, digital detox spaces, art therapy, and classes for breath work, meditation and movement. Buildings will be equipped with water and air filtration systems and a terrace or garden every three floors. ‘Given how much time we spend in our homes – not just living, but increasingly working – we believe that every element of the design should enhance wellbeing,’ says Jasmine Dillon, managing director and head of marketing, community and experience at developer Hines.

These projects reflect a shift sweeping through architecture and design. Wellness is big business: the Global Wellness Institute reported the market at $5.6 trillion in 2023, with growth expected to reach $8.5 trillion by 2027. Young people are largely driving the surge. McKinsey reports that while Gen Z and Millennials make up 36 per cent of the US adult population, they account for over 41 per cent of spending in the wellness sector. As a result, our built environments are starting to reflect their preferences and priorities.

‘The spaces we inhabit shape our lives in various ways. This is the principle behind neurodesign and neuroarchitecture – emerging fields that explore how our surroundings impact us psychologically and physiologically,’ says Isabelle Sjövall, a researcher in these fields and the author of Neurodesign (2016) and Designfulness (2020). ‘By making conscious design choices, we can actively improve health, cognitive performance and emotional wellbeing.’

Below, we explore some of those choices – the factors that architects need to consider when designing spaces that heal rather than harm, as well as the innovative examples of wellness design – past and present – that they might look to.

Let there be light

‘Light regulates our body clock, hormone levels and sleep. It’s one of the strongest environmental cues for the brain,’ says Sjövall. Sunlight also stimulates the body’s production of vitamin D, which supports immune, muscle and bone health. The importance of daylight is such that it’s a standard component of building certifications like LEED and WELL.

Architects looking to maximise light may use passive design methods such as orienting buildings toward the sun, and using large windows, skylights, light wells and clerestory windows. Other strategies include open-plan layouts and transparent partitions, as well as central courtyards and atriums. The Ørestad Gymnasium in Copenhagen, designed by 3XN, for example, has a completely open plan and receives daylight through a central atrium. Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art Museum in Texas uses skylights and curved ceilings to reflect light, and Tezuka Architects’ Fuji Kindergarten in Tokyo takes on a circular shape, whereby every part is connected to the outdoors.

‘At Valentyns, all rooms receive generous daylight, even interior zones, [thanks to the use of] glass partitions and careful layout planning,’ says Stahl. Similarly, at The Round, ‘natural light is a foundational element of the design’. ‘Dual-aspect residential units and articulated office floor plates with shallow depths and generous glazing ensure deep daylight reach,’ says Kate Fletcher, director of Arup, the engineering and sustainability consultant for the development.

Lisa Sternfeld is the founder of WLLW, which collaborates with architects and developers to create health-first interiors. ‘I believe that good design can restore us every day,’ she says. ‘WLLW helps translate science into design strategies that improve how people feel in their homes.’ One of the key elements that she emphasises to her clients is natural light: ‘We guide [them] through thoughtful spatial planning, sun path awareness and material choices that help carry light through the home.’

Where natural daylight isn’t sufficient, designers can turn to tuneable LED systems or daylight simulation software. The Edge in Amsterdam, designed by PLP Architecture, has automated lighting systems that adjust based on available daylight. At The Round, ‘circadian lighting systems including UV and SAD lamps are integrated to mimic natural daylight patterns’, says Dillon.

Seeing green

Integrating natural elements into built environments is known as biophilic design, and has well-documented benefits to health. ‘Our brains are biologically attuned to nature. Exposure to greenery can lower stress hormones, improve focus and support recovery,’ says Sjövall. In 1984, healthcare design expert Roger Ulrich demonstrated that hospital patients with views of trees recovered faster than those without – data put into practice by Singapore’s Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, designed by RMJM, which employs vertical gardens and water features throughout.

Attention Restoration Theory, developed by psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, posits that modern life overburdens our directed attention. Natural environments, by contrast, engage our involuntary attention, giving the brain a break. This is the idea that informs the Amazon Spheres in Seattle – glass domes housing over 40,000 plants, designed as work and rest spaces for Amazon staff.

‘At The Round, biophilic design principles are embedded,’ says Emily Rix, a partner at Foster + Partners, the project’s architect. ‘Residential balconies, rooftop gardens, office terraces and planted atria as well as green walls and indoor planting create continuous connections to nature.’

Biophilic design can also work indirectly via the use of things like natural materials, fractal textures and nature-inspired colours, patterns and shapes. ‘Curved, organic forms are associated with safety and comfort, while sharp angles may evoke alertness or caution,’ explains Sjövall. As such, Sternfeld advises her clients to use raw wood, natural fibres and textured surfaces, adding that ‘even views of nature, such as trees, sky or water, can help’.

Life in colour

‘Colour is not just a visual preference, it’s psychological input that may influence how we feel, behave and interact,’ says Sjövall. ‘While cool, muted tones such as blue or green support relaxation and concentration, warmer colours can foster energy and social engagement.’

Google offices often employ colour psychology, with vibrant palettes in social zones and earthier tones in focus areas. Other examples of the strategic use of colour in buildings include the Vittra schools in Stockholm, designed by Rosan Bosch Studio, which follows a similar model, and BuroKade’s Dementia Village in Hogeweyk, the Netherlands, where colour schemes help reduce confusion for residents.

‘Through our customer engagement we identified a desire to move away from the glass-and-steel grey buildings that many find a little cold and unwelcoming,’ says Dillon of The Round, which opted instead for a warmer terracotta façade. Inside, ‘energising tones are introduced in social and collaborative spaces’, while ‘quieter areas such as private apartments or focused work zones feature calming palettes’.

Valentyns has also opted to foster a calming environment: ‘We use soft greens in blinds and textiles that offer subtle biophilic references, without overwhelming the mind,’ says Stahl. Similarly, Sternfeld favours ‘palettes inspired by nature’; she also considers the finish of a surface, ‘knowing that a matte finish can calm where a high-gloss surface may activate’.

Tidy space, tidy mind

Have you ever sat down to work only to be distracted by a cluttered room, unable to focus until the mess is cleared? Our brains crave order and predictability; when these are absent, we feel unsettled. Research has shown that busy spaces over-activate the prefrontal cortex, and a 2010 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology linked clutter to higher cortisol levels.

Wellness-focused design starts with zoning – designating areas for work, rest or socialising. The Rietveld Schröder House in the Netherlands, designed by Gerrit Rietveld, demonstrates this with sliding panels that create flexible, purpose-specific spaces.

Clear sightlines and intuitive movement routes help people navigate spaces without decision fatigue, while negative, unfilled space provides mental rest. ‘Smart storage solutions and open-plan layouts reduce visual clutter and support intuitive wayfinding,’ says Rix of The Round.

This notion – that, as Stahl argues, 'when the space is clear, the mind can be clear' – is core to the architectural principle of minimalism, as exemplified in spaces such as Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House in Illinois and Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye in Connecticut.

Something in the air

Poor ventilation allows pollutants to accumulate, and can even lead to a phenomenon known as Sick Building Syndrome, where people experience health issues linked to a particular space. Natural ventilation, as well as plants and purification technologies, help flush out pollutants.

Sternfeld created WLLW after her son developed respiratory issues, which were found to be linked to her home; she ‘[begins] every project by prioritising air’, specifying ‘low-emission materials and ventilation strategies that support a steady exchange of fresh air’. The Tower at PNC Plaza in Pittsburgh, designed by Gensler, uses a solar chimney and double-skin façade to circulate air, while, in Winnipeg, Manitoba Hydro Place by KPMB Architects employs operable panels, geothermal systems and solar chimneys to provide fresh air year-round.

The ideal indoor temperature range is deemed to be 20-22°C – the maintenance of this is crucial when designing health-conscious buildings. At The Round, a ‘whole-building approach’ has been taken to thermal comfort and air quality, says Fletcher: ‘We have developed an advanced all-air underfloor displacement ventilation system that introduces clean, low-velocity air at floor level and extracts stale, warmer air at ceiling level.’

Ventilation and temperature control form the basis of tropical modernism, a climate-responsive architecture that developed in hot and humid regions. These buildings often use passive methods of cooling such as high ceilings, shaded verandas, roof overhangs and porous materials. Some of the most compelling examples include Renzo Piano’s Tjibaou Cultural Center in New Caledonia, which uses layered façades and chimney effects to draw and circulate air, and Zimbabwe’s Eastgate Centre, designed by Mick Pearce, which draws inspiration from termite mounds to regulate temperature and airflow, completely eliminating the need for conventional air conditioning.

Healthy cities

Wellbeing extends beyond individual buildings; wellness-oriented design, when applied at scale, has the power to transform communities. People thrive in environments where they can move freely and safely, where daily needs are within reach, and where spaces encourage physical activity and social interaction. These are the principles behind the ‘15-minute city’ concept, popularised by urbanist Professor Carlos Moreno (and which won him an Obel Award in 2021), which imagines cities where everything – housing, work, healthcare, education and leisure – is reachable within a 15-minute walk or bike ride.

We can see the positive impacts of such planning around the world: Copenhagen is a benchmark for pedestrian- and cyclist-first infrastructure, with 390km of bike lanes. Melbourne’s ‘Postcode 3000’ initiative transformed its Central Business District into a walkable, mixed-use environment. Utrecht, meanwhile, has successfully integrated the 15-minute model: 100 per cent of residents can reach essential services within this time.

The concept of The Round, says Rix, ‘begins with the public realm’: ‘a pedestrian-friendly setting where healthy lifestyles are encouraged’. The layout then creates ‘neighbourhoods’ of smaller clusters, which are designed to feel personal and safe. ‘Communal amenity spaces, from children’s play areas to fitness rooms, encourage connection, relaxation and healthy routines,’ she adds.

Urban wellness isn’t just about infrastructure – it’s about how spaces feel. British architect Thomas Heatherwick has spoken out against the ‘inhumanity’ of brutalist and modernist structures (notably in his 2023 book, Humanise), instead advocating for buildings that engage the senses. His own projects surprise and delight with forms that invite contemplation and interaction. Research in environmental psychology supports his ethos, says Sjövall: ‘Engaging with art and creativity is positive for mental wellbeing. Environments that support engagement or playfulness can boost resilience and mood.’

As Gen Z’s influence grows, so does the demand for humane, healthy and emotionally intelligent design. From private homes to public institutions, the architecture of the future won’t just be about function – it will be about flourishing.

Alongside the redeveloped Spitalfields Market to the north-east of the City of London is the latest outpost of Swedish start-up Neko Health. The new location follows on from its debut London clinic in Marylebone, which followed the company’s first scanning suite in Stockholm. Housed in a steel pavilion designed, like the market redevelopment alongside it, by Foster & Partners, the new clinic is Neko Health’s largest facility to date.

‘The canvas we can paint on is dependent on the real estate we find,’ says Hjalmar Nilsonne, who co-founded the company with Daniel Ek, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of Spotify and tech investment firm Prima Materia. Spitalfields is the largest scanning suite to date, covering 8,000 sq ft. Its six suites can process up to 30,000 scans every year, particularly helpful when the company already has 100,000 people on its waiting list.

Before we dive into the refined aesthetics of Neko’s space, it’s worth circling back to discover the company’s origins. Nilsonne is an engineer by training, despite coming from a family with three generations of doctors. After a spell working on climate-focused energy companies, specialising in data analysis, he was contacted by Ek, fresh from the Spotify IPO. ‘He wanted to put his capital towards something meaningful, and suggested healthcare,’ Nilsonne recalls, ‘I knew it was such an unbelievably difficult system to change [in Sweden]’.

Nevertheless, Ek asked how he would go about ‘starting a healthcare system from scratch’, pointing out that regardless of the state of your nation’s healthcare system, most people take a reactive approach. ‘You only go to the doctor when you’re ill. Most healthcare costs come from chronic diseases. Prevention and early detection could change all this,’ Nilsonne says, pointing out that the Hippocratic oath says, ‘I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure’.

The challenges were myriad, not least the question of how to gather data and then what to do with it all. Nilsonne’s expertise in applying statistical inference and analysis formed the bedrock of the Neko approach. ‘It has to be super easy and cheap to download all your health data,’ he stresses. Even so, after the company was formed in 2018, it still took over four years to explore all the ways that health data could gathered, stored and presented. Another challenge was to actually make customers care sufficiently to undertake a scan.

‘I was influenced by my ten years in the energy space,’ Nilsonne says. ‘Climate change posed a similar challenge. In the end, changing things from within was the good fight – a company like Tesla provided a vision of a future that was exciting enough for consumers to want to live in it.’ Regardless of how that particular story is going, it’s true that Tesla created a momentum that has changed the entire auto industry. Neko sees itself on a similar path. ‘We’re going directly to consumers, creating a warm, inviting space that paints a picture of a possible future,’ Nilsonne says. ‘There’s no waiting for results – it all happens there and then.’

At a time when the ways of tracking our health and lifestyle metrics are only increasing in scope and accuracy, Neko has to find a sweet spot between services that are essentially free – your smartwatch – and the high-end, Harley Street clinic-style health check-up that can easily run into many thousands of pounds. ‘Neko is about helping consumers be more proactive about their health,’ Nilsonne stresses. The price point is modest, but most of all it’s the scope of the service and the strength of the data that makes it so valuable. As a result, 80 per cent of customers come back.

‘We’re a doctor-led model,’ Nilsonne continues. ‘Doctors will accompany you, asses you and then go through your data. An appointment is mostly talking and if there are any issues that need further discussion, this can also be done in-house.’ Most importantly, the barrage of data that Neko generates is, ultimately, all actionable, whether it’s lifestyle changes or, in the 1 per cent of cases to date that have revealed a more serious underlying condition, with follow-up care.

To achieve all this, Neko Health’s set-up is about ‘getting as much high-quality information as quickly and cheaply as possible.’ That’s not to say the set-up is low-rent; in fact, it’s the opposite. The scanning suites are equipped with a mix of proprietary and off-the-shelf technology. Blood tests, for example, are industry standard, the difference is that the phlebotomy lab is on site (with an impressive view of the market) and can turn results around in half an hour.

The environment is essential. As we saw in Marylebone, Neko Health manifests itself through soft pastels, an aesthetic that’s part spa, part spaceship, where light, texture and ambient noise all play a key role in calming, intriguing and enticing. The company’s architect, Franquibel Lima, formerly of Foster & Partners and WeWork, was tasked with turning this glassy office pavilion into a more clinical, private space. ‘The first challenge was to engage with the scale and transparency,’ Lima says, ‘what we offer is of course fundamentally private.’

Emphasising that this a journey, not just in terms of your health, but also as you travel from public realm to scanning room, visitors walk from reception past a vast ‘pivoted door’, an 8m-high, 100 sq m wall of 3D-printed recycled translucent material that’s illuminated from within. This creates the impression of a curtain being drawn back, not just grand but also intriguing. From the double-height, fully glazed lobby space, you peer through into a ‘safe space’, with a folded steel staircase leading to the upstairs scanning suites. This instantly shifts the scale to the domestic, with fabric sound-absorbing rooms, carpets and friendly but contemporary seating. The outside world is screened out by net curtains, and the overall effect is minimal but not cold. ‘If it’s all about your health, there shouldn’t be any other distractions,’ Lima says.

Stepping up for a scan

In the days before the new site opened, we took a trip to Marylebone to experience Neko Health first hand. The main difference here is that the scanning suite occupies a lower-ground level, so rather than ascend into a light-filled space, you’re descending into a pastel-hued basement. Along with qualified nurses, Neko has found that former GPs tend to have the wide range of experience that best suits their service. After a brief check-in and online identity validation – security is a big issue – you’re invited to step into a changing booth adjoining your assigned scanning suite. Undress and slip on the robe and slippers, clock your current weight and you’re good to go through for the scan.

First up is the body scan. In just seven seconds, the proprietary system with its nine cameras bathes you in warmth from 24 ultra-bright lights to capture a couple of thousand high-resolution photographs of every mark, blemish, mole and spot on your body. This is then followed by a conventional blood test, with the sample dispatched to the lab via pneumatic tube, an air puff test to check the pressure inside your eye as well as conventional grip strength test.

Then it’s onto the soft-padded bench of the main scan system. Blood pressure monitors are attached to both index fingers, arms and ankles and a special cardiovascular scanner that uses different wavelengths of laser light examines the movement of blood through your veins and arteries. The mildly squeamish might want to avoid the images on the screens and choose to focus on the soft, calming citrus colour used throughout, or the meticulous grid of the suspended ceiling. Neko Health’s own scan technology is mounted here, and the units are manipulated into place to take the various readings. After blood pressure has been thoroughly assessed, a final sensor moves down to do a radar scan of the blood flow in your chest.

After an introduction from the doctor and a quick check of your heart (together with a recording of your heartbeat), you get dressed and head into the debrief room with the doctor for a 20-minute consultation focusing on the results. Aside from a very slight initial frisson created by the facility’s resemblance to quasi-dystopic neo-medical sci-fi visions favoured by the likes of Coma, Logan’s Run, Gattaca, or even Severance, the experience is calm, straightforward and conducted with utter professionalism.

Data and communications are the most important takeaway, and the amount of time and energy that has gone into creating the ‘dashboard’, a slick display of your health metrics that the doctor talks you through after your appointment, reflects this. With all this information banked – including a frankly alarming visual record of those many surface blemishes – you’re now in an excellent position to monitor your health going forward. Think of it as an enhanced personal health consultation, with readily available stats (kept on your dashboard in the online Neko Health app) to track or show to other consultants. This alone is probably the biggest and best takeaway from your scan.

Like most people, engaging with any form of inquisitive healthcare involves a certain amount of trepidation, regardless of how crisply clinical and wondrously choreographed the experience turned out to be. Neko doesn’t prescribe medication and only makes referrals where they’re genuinely needed, and our doctor was adept at pointing out the good (and bad) bits and offering helpful advice. ‘Why can’t we have a healthcare system where the presentation is good?’ Nilsonne asks rhetorically and the answer is, of course, money.

Neko Health is priced well below the market rate, thanks to the company’s massive investment in design, technology and people. Even so, it’s not exactly mass market. Right now, there are no obvious competitors, but Nilsonne firmly believes that’ll change. ‘Over the next decade there’ll be a mega-trend in preventative healthcare,’ he says, ‘Right now, my biggest problem is building these fast enough.’

Neko Health scan, £299, NekoHealth.com

Having canvassed the industry for the latest offerings in dental care, we bring you a guide to proper tooth and oral care , spanning from at-home offerings to a new vision of what the dentist’s office should be like. 

Selahatin

Selahatin grew out of tragedy—founder Kristoffer Vural had a stroke that left him paralysed for a year and his senses more responsive to scent and taste. Even brushing his teeth aggravated his senses, so he  created a line of delicious tasting toothpastes with flavours range from the citrusy ‘Of Course I Still Luv You,’ which blends verbena, bergamot, cardamom and pine, and warming ‘Escapist’ which blends cinnamon, orange, and many more.

selahatin.com

Klen tongue scraper

When Dr. Brian Harris launched his comprehensive dental brand Klen this past summer, he wanted to give clients a way to achieve and maintain optimal dental hygiene when a visit to a dentist might not be immediately possible. The LA-based label has not only rethought essentials such as a toothpaste (fluoride-free), mouth rinse, toothbrush, an expanding floss, and breath spray with an all-natural slant, Dr. Harris has also developed several tools, including a medical-grade stainless steel tongue scraper that’s been designed to remove bacteria from the entire tongue at once – a must, especially when dealing with dreaded mask breath or halitosis in general.

klenproducts.com

Vvardis dental kit

Whitening, brightening, and protecting teeth might not be revolutionary demands when it comes to oral care, but the freshly launched dental label Vvardis counts on innovative new technology to get results. Its patented formula, which is sustainably produced in Switzerland, mimics enamel’s natural remineralization process. Added fluoride helps to fight cavities, prevent acid erosion, and also whiten teeth, without any peroxide. Formulated by dentists and sisters Golnar and Haleh Abivardi, the four-piece line is made up of a fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash, a brush-on whitening gel serum (all enriched with its proprietary WX Formula) and a sustainably made toothbrush crafted from Swiss beechwood, designed to prevent over-scrubbing.

vvardis.com

Quip refillable floss pick

When Quip launched its affordable electric toothbrush back in 2015, it became ubiquitous and a staple for any design-forward sink side. Now available in a smart version and kids size as well, Quip has gone on to extends its mission for accessible, high-quality care to other aspects of the oral care realm. Since launching its refillable floss string last year, the brand unveiled a refillable floss pick – a sleek, intuitive and eco-friendly alternative for the non-conventional flosser. Made to house Quip’s expandable nylon floss that are each housed in a 100% recyclable paper refill pod, the floss pick replaces 180 single-use plastic picks at one time. Housed in an equally stylish compact, complete with a built-in mirror, flossing could not be more appealing.

getquip.com

Byte aligners

Teledentistry might still be taking flight, but at the head of the pack is Byte, a doctor-directed orthodontic brand that has developed a kit for invisible aligners, primed for at-home use. For a monthly fee of under $100 per month, clients will be able to get straighter teeth all from the comfort of home. To start, dental impressions are taken from home and sent back to Byte’s LA headquarters. The company’s network of licensed orthodontists then creates a treatment plan and a 3D model that tracks week-by-week progress. The custom-made aligners are then sent back to the client, along with HyperByte, a proprietary high frequency vibration device that helps to increase the rate of tooth movement and cuts down the treatment time by half. 

byte.com

Terra & Co pulling mouthwash 

In search of naturally whitening toothcare, sisters Amra and Azra Hajdarevic developed a line of products infused with charcoal, which naturally absorbs impurities. With over two decades of experience in the beauty business, they combined their passion, knowledge and address books to create a set of products in contrast to those full of harmful chemicals that get absorbed by gums. Their Brilliant Black Pulling Oil, a powerful Ayurvedic blend of coconut oil, activated charcoal, peppermint oil, works to reduce inflammation, bad breath and dry mouth. Plus it looks good on the bathroom shelf.

terraandco.com

Ever wondered where the design-minded go to relax, work-out and punch things? It turns out they’ve got quite the option list – stylish concept gyms are getting pulses racing everywhere.

But which are truly inspirational? London to Los Angeles, here’s all you need to know about the world’s best gyms, from shadowboxing in New York City, to stretching out in Singapore...

Equinox Kensington, London, UK

Equinox Fitness has been around since the early Nineties, but the performative health culture of social media has certainly given the luxury company (which also owns Soul Cycle and Pure Yoga) a boost. Equinox Kensington is the first branch of the gym to open outside of the United States, and – as in other cities – it occupies prime real estate.

It’s organised around the art deco dome of the historic Derry & Toms building, a seven-storey department store fixture of 1930s Kensington. The building gained even more notoriety in the Seventies when it was taken over by Biba, which drove many of the decade’s most beloved fashion palettes and silhouettes. Today, wrought-iron deco windows illuminate yoga studios and all the best of the space has been preserved.

5th floor, The Roof Gardens, Kensington High Street, London W8 5SA

Another_Space, London, UK

Launched as a sister club to luxury British fitness brand Third Space, Another_Space is a stylish, light-filled work-out zone in the heart of Covent Garden. London-based Goldstein Ween Architects were enlisted to create the breezy, loft-like interiors, conjuring a pared-back palette of warm wood flooring, sweeping skylights, marble basins and plenty of soothing greenery. Helmed by Colin Waggett, founder of Psycle and CEO of Third Space, Another_Space brings together the golden trinity of fitness in the form of yoga, cycle and boxing-based HIIT studios, sure to attract the most serious of gym-goers looking to work on cardio, flexibility, strength and conditioning training.

4-10 Tower St, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9NP

1Rebel St Mary Axe, London, UK

1Rebel’s first boutique gym at London’s St Mary’s Axe was designed by Studio C102 to woo fitness lovers frustrated with the current gym model. Pay as you go? Check. Music you actually want to workout to? Check. And did we mention the chilled towels?

Industrial architecture at every turn exudes the philosophy that it’s about pushing limits, not looking pretty. Copper piping snakes up the changing room walls and the gym’s personalised playlists pump throughout.

63 St Mary Axe, London EC3A 8LE

One Hot Yoga & Pilates, Melbourne, Australia

One Hot Yoga in Melbourne is the creation of husband-and-wife team, architect Robert Mills and yogi Lucinda Mills. It’s no wonder the space is extremely design-driven in addition to emphasising environmental wellness. The studio is especially proud of the architectural features that lower its carbon footprint. A custom water-heating system uses ‘one third of the energy [compared to] commonly-used electric heat systems and is one third as costly to run.’ Shower and cleaning products at the studio are all organic.

36 River Street, South Yarra VIC 3141, Australia

Karen Lord Pilates Movement, New York, USA

Former fashion stylist Karen Lord has created an eponymous pilates studio in NYC’s Tribeca. The space reflects the serenity that seduced Lord out of her previous hectic lifestyle. Unsurprisingly, the minimally branded program has drawn loyal fans from among the fashion set. The studio store stocks wellness goodies, like BKR water bottles and Sandoval aromatherapy spray.

137 Duane St, New York, NY 10013, USA

Pure Yoga, Shanghai, China

While living in a penthouse may be just an aspiration, working out in a penthouse doesn’t have to be at Pure Yoga Shanghai, which is set atop the IAPM mall. After enjoying city views, yogis can breeze through the likes of Miu Miu and Muji on their way out. Pure Yoga began in Hong Kong and has since spread across Asia and been exported as far as New York. Its Shanghai outpost uses clean lines and soft lighting to create a calming space that echoes the brand’s commitment to body and mind.

999 Huaihai Middle Rd, Xuhui Qu, Shanghai Shi, China

Blok, London, UK

BLOK Shoreditch is designed by Daytrip Studio (Iwan Halstead and Emily Potter) and lighting design studio There’s Light. The latter have made the whole space feel like one, long corridor animated by light, colour and reflections, which mingle with the smell of coffee and Malin & Goetz bespoke products, alongside photography by Oppenheim and installations by Ben Cullen Williams.

The designers have used a combination of materials (concrete, glass, steel, wood and fabric) to create contrasts between hard and soft surfaces, light and shadow; illustrating the divide between the hectic London urban environment and the relaxing energy of the practice rooms.

The Tram Depot 38-40 Upper Clapton Rd, London E5 8BQ

Virgin Active, Singapore

Virgin Active gyms cite being a ‘force for good’ as one of their main principles. Despite the luxury quality of their offerings, they also began the affordable Virgin Active RED gym model in South Africa, where they hope to attract and benefit the growing middle class. At Virgin Active’s Singapore location, the Relax & Recovery Zone is a huge draw. Despite the delights of foot soaking and steam, the real highlight might be the glowing, pink wonder of the Himalayan Salt Inhalation room.

Raffles Place, #06-61, Tower 2, 1 Raffles Place, Singapore 048616

Soho House, Chicago, USA

Soho House Chicago is housed in a historic early 20th-century belting factory, and its 17,000 sq ft gym is no exception to the club’s preserved industrial loft aesthetic. Appropriately, the last tannery in the city designed the leather boxing equipment. When the season’s right, don’t forget to check out the beloved hotel rooftop and bar and treat yourself to a post-cardio cocktail.

113 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607, USA

The Burrow, Kuwait City, Kuwait

Local firm Lab100 are behind Kuwait’s most stylish boxing gym. The Burrow puts their boxing ring theatrically at the centre of the action. Skylights ensure that the space becomes even more dramatic at night. It was the first studio of its kind in the region.

Photography: Nelson Garrido. Jaber Al Malik Al Sabah St, Kuwait

Shadowbox, New York, USA

Boutique boxing gym Shadowbox is a sleek alternative to the gritty stereotype of the sport. The luxury facility, started in NYC’s Flatiron, has been so popular it’s opening a Brooklyn branch next. ‘We found that clients will form lines out the door if you distil the very best of boxing into a 45-minute workout incorporating rounds of heavy bag work, thumping curated music and a welcoming ambience,’ says founder Daniel Glazer, who trained with professional fighters. In addition to the club-like grid of boxing bags is a vintage-style boxing ring in rope, wood and canvas. All of which were designed in-house.

28 W 20th Street, New York, NY 10011, USA

U Energy, Hazmieh, Lebanon

Designed by Rabih Geha Architects, U Energy gym in Lebanon encourages connection and interaction – the 1200 sq m space is completely open, divided only by structural concrete pillars. Underground, atmospheric, high energy; the gym features skylights to allow beams of light from above, while neon lighting taps into the ‘gym-cum-club’ trend gripping fitness fanatics everywhere.

The lighting does more than make the space look ‘trendy’, however. The architects argue that ‘light travels through neurological pathways and affects the pineal gland in the brain’. Green has a healing effect and boosts satisfaction, which (apparently) can make your workouts more enjoyable. Red can invigorate you, adding zest to keep-fit sessions. While the colour blue can actually increase productivity; research shows weightlifters can lift more in blue rooms.

Hazmieh, Lebanon

In partnership with Technogym

The days of ugly, clunky and cumbersome, single-exertion home gym equipment are over. The Personal Line is Technogym’s innovative blend of sport and design, combining the style of world renowned industrial designer Antonio Citterio with Technogym’s experience in the world of fitness, sports, and as an official supplier of the Olympic Games.

While featuring state-of-the-art biomechanics, digital technologies, refined materials and the highest quality, Made In Italy craftsmanship, Technogym’s Personal Line products are also conceived as furniture design pieces to be placed in the most beautiful spaces of the home.

The collection includes the brand’s most iconic fitness equipment – Treadmill, Bike, Recline, Elliptical, Kinesis and Power Station – and the dual possibility of creating an entire home gym or simply integrating your selected model within the living room, bedroom, or bathroom.

Combining technology, refined design and entertainment

Personal Line products are also equipped with the newly launched Technogym Live console that allows users to choose a personalised training experience from an extensive on-demand training content library featuring the most engaging one-to-one trainer-led sessions, athletic training routines, basic workouts or virtual routes set in nature or in favourite cities.

The Technogym Live console also offers endless entertainment options, including TV channels, social media, streaming channels and a wide range of apps, from games to breaking news.

Citterio specified the Bench Personal’s soft-touch upholstery, which features biometrically authenticating Bodyprint technology, ensuring maximum comfort during the workout. An easily adjustable mechanism eases the targeting of specific muscles and muscle groups.

Empowering performance: the Technogym Bench

The Technogym Bench is an ideal training partner. Beautifully designed for maximum versatility and faster results in contemporary, domestic environments, and featuring more than 200 exercise options, Technogym Bench is a compact, minimum-footprint, multifunctional workout station that allows users to combine weights, elastic bands, dumbbells, weighted knuckles, and a training mat. Ingeniously conceived, the station offers infinite training opportunities and multiple configurations, empowering performance and ensuring highly effective total body workouts.

Choose the Technogym Bench’s hexagon dumbbells for increased muscle tone, isolating single muscle groups or combining muscles for full-body blasts.

The unit’s elastic bands, in three different resistance levels, facilitate mobility through stretching and provide incremental resistance for strength exercises, while weighted knuckles escalate core improvement with engaging power-up exercises.

Technogym Bench’s accompanying video workout programmes can be adapted to personal goals, for strength, resistance and core, for example, while a new Technogym App offers personalised workouts for use with the brand’s equipment – or for bodyweight exercises and workouts with the tools you have available – as well as on-demand video from top trainers.

An app to guide your workouts

For users that already have Technogym equipment available, at home or at the gym, the app offers guidance on how to make the best use of it, with the possibility to enjoy the video training experience on the console. If you do not have equipment available, it can propose alternative workouts directly on your mobile or on a TV screen.

Every day the app suggests the most suitable bespoke workouts, combining scientific research, artificial intelligence, and engaging and challenging video content. It offers a wide variety of fitness, sports and health programmes developed by specialists in different disciplines.

A new Technogym ID service allows connections to a personal profile across all touchpoints (smartphone app, equipment consoles and website), enabling users to access workouts, services and results anywhere in the world – at home, at the gym, when travelling, at work or outdoors. 

Technogym and fitness

Technogym is a world leading brand in products and digital technologies for fitness, sport and health for wellness. It offers a complete ecosystem of connected smart equipment, digital services, on-demand training experiences and apps that allow users to access a personalised training experience anytime and anywhere.

More than 50 million people train with Technogym in 80,000 wellness centres and 500,000 private homes worldwide. The brand has been an official supplier to the last eight Olympic Games.

technogym.com

Singapore based designers Lanzavecchia + Wai and Lekker Architects have joined forces to create Hack Care, a project that builds on design’s potential to heal and improve lives. Unveiled in September during World Alzheimer’s Month, Hack Care serves both as a reminder of the struggles of people living with Dementia, as well as a practical tool to empower those affected by the condition and their families.

The project was initiated by the Lien Foundation, a Singaporean philanthropic organization whose mission is to offer a radical approach to common social issues. ‘We view innovation as a permanent state of exploration, and embed design into our work in early childhood development, eldercare and end-of-life issues, as a key driver of value creation,’ reads their mission statement. The foundation put together a team offering professional and personal caregiving insights, to inform the project, which combined design thinking and scientific research with the aim of providing a person-centred care plan.

‘Living with dementia is daunting, and our everyday home environments do not always anticipate or meet the unique needs of people battling cognitive and physical frailty,’ said Lee Poh Wah, CEO of the Lien Foundation. ‘These challenges can be mitigated with good design that is functional, inspirational and accessible, and shaped by the shared experiences of caregivers who have been on a similar journey.’

Hack Care is an independent project not officially linked with IKEA, but the Swedish giant’s approach and visual language offered a practical and familiar concept for the team to build on. The project is based on the popular Ikea Hacks concept, a global movement of people repurposing the company’s furniture with customised designs.

The 240-page book is styled like a classic IKEA catalogue depicting traditional domestic interiors, featuring over 50 simple tricks to make furniture more comfortable or approachable for patients living at home with dementia, and for their carers. It is broken down into ‘micro-worlds': domestic spaces dedicated to rituals and daily habits, from meals to personal care. ‘Daily rituals like bathing and dressing can become opportunities to shape the living environment to improve the wellbeing of the person with dementia,’ reads an introduction to the project. 

Lekker Architects’ Director, Ong Ker-Shing (a long-term collaboration of the Foundation) drew from her personal experiences to work on the project, having witnessed her father’s fight with dementia for over a decade. ‘At home, we observed how my father was incredibly responsive to changes in his environment, and more importantly, that the manipulation of this environment was really in the hands of us, his family, and not so much in the hands of architects and designers,’ she said. She noticed that the experience of hacking living spaces was common for caregivers, and her work on the book features both practical insights, provocations and tips for ‘non designers to think like designers’.

Singaporean-Italian duo Francesca Lanzavecchia and Hunn Wai had already explored the topic in 2012, with a collection titled No Country for Old Men that included ‘walking aids for living' (wheeled walking canes that doubled as coffee tables), a magnifying lamp (which was shortlisted for a Wallpaper* Design Award) and a chair that tilted to help its user get up. The research and design insight from that project informed this new endeavour. Hack Care's practical solutions include creating a carer’s corner within the home for administrative documents and medication, or limit wardrobe contents with pre-arranged hangers to let people dress independently. The book also suggests small changes to furniture that can make it more comfortable and practical, or how the use of colour and plants in a space can help navigating an environment and feel more at ease. 

‘Design holds great promise to solve the most pressing challenges of our time,’ continues Lee Poh Wah. ‘We hope to engender a new breed of designers as catalysts for change in our ecosystem of partners and projects.’

INFORMATION

hackcare.org

Pakistan is a country of 200 million people, less than half of whom have access to a doctor. Two Pakistani doctors, Sara Saeed Khurram and Iffat Zafar Aga, decided to tackle this problem by designing a telemedicine service, Sehat Kahani, whereby female doctors who, like them, had stopped practicing to focus on their families, can work from home to treat patients in local clinics on live video links or apps. Founded three years ago, Sehat Kahani, which means ‘Story of Health’ in Urdu, now operates throughout Pakistan.

The two founders told Alice Rawsthorn how, having made an important contribution to the Covid-19 relief effort, their project now has the public awareness and political support required to accelerate its future growth, serving as an inspiring example of telemedicine’s potential to improve access to healthcare in countries where it is urgently needed.

Alice Rawsthorn: Why did you found Sehat Kahani?

Sara Saeed Khurram: It evolved around two major health issues. The first is very connected to my and Iffat’s lives – the issue of doctors’ rights. Pakistan has a total medical workforce of 170,000 doctors. Female doctors make up around 60 to 70 per cent of the total medical workforce, which is a great thing, but, unfortunately, only 23 per cent of them are currently registered with the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council and work, which means that 70,000 to 80,000 doctors are missing from Pakistan’s health ecosystem.

This happens because of what we call ‘doctor brides’, in that parents in our country want their daughters to become doctors, not for them to serve communities as physicians, but for them to have better hands in marriage. If you’re a woman in Pakistan, if you’re a doctor, if you’re tall, if you’re thin, if you’re pretty, you make the perfect package for an arranged marriage.

The second problem is very close to our hearts – the inaccessibility of healthcare in this country. Over half the population don’t have access to the help of qualified doctors and go to quacks, faith healers or midwives and nurses instead. While there are a lot of problems in the healthcare infrastructure, we believe that the inability of our medical workforce to work to its full potential contributes a lot to preventing the majority of the people in Pakistan from having access to healthcare.

Iffat and I both went through the doctor bride issue. When I had a small daughter, I couldn’t work and fell into postpartum depression, and Iffat lost her baby in a premature birth so left her job. The next time she conceived, she thought that she might lose the baby again. We felt that so many female doctors in Pakistan go through these traumas, that we could help by making provision for them to practice from their homes and to use telemedicine technology to connect to patients in communities where doctors are not accessible. That’s how Sehat Kahani came into being.
AR: What difficulties have you had to overcome since founding Sehat Kahani three years ago?

Iffat Zafar Aga: There were a lot of challenges. When we presented the concept, some people said it wouldn’t work. Telemedicine had come into Pakistan in the late 1990s, but most of those programmes were funded by donors. There were questions as to whether people would pay for telemedicine, how the system would work and whether patients would trust a doctor they could only meet online.

When we started reaching out to the right kind of communities for us to work with, it required a lot of education from our end to convince people that they would benefit from the initiative. In the early days we’d sit on the floor with women from those communities and explain what the service would be like for them, that the doctors lived in the city and had all graduated from prestigious hospitals. These were the challenges, but over time, we’ve overcome them and learned a lot along the way

AR: Was it also challenging for you to operate as an all-female team of doctors?

SSK: Yes, because Pakistan is still a patriarchal country, and many people still think that women are not able to do a lot of things. But one thing that has gone in our favour is that medicine is considered to be a noble profession in Pakistan, and while many female patients feel uncomfortable going to male doctors, we don’t see male patients being as uncomfortable about female doctors, because they respect the profession.

We started Sehat Kahani with the idea of creating telemedicine clinics in low-income communities, which are majorly patriarchal in nature, with the men taking all the decisions. When we started opening clinics with nurses working as intermediaries and helping the patients to connect to female doctors, one of the things that worked in our favour is that when women and children came in, they saw families getting consultations from a female nurse and a female doctor. So, there was limited male involvement in those clinics.

But as Sehat Kahani evolved, we added a mobile app to our service, to make it better suited to the mass market. Interestingly, 70 per cent of the market for our app are male patients, who are consulting female doctors and seem pretty happy about it. Yes, there are some issues, such as sex issues, urological issues, and psychological issues for which we also need male doctors. And we employ male doctors specifically for them. But, generally, we’ve seen that men are more comfortable for themselves and their families to consult female doctors, than to see male doctors.

AR: What was the role of design in Sehat Kahani’s development?

IZA: Design has been an essential part of how we have developed each and every service, and each and every product. We were very lucky in being associated with a lot of programmes that taught us about design. For example, we were part of the Spring Accelerator programme, which supports businesses whose products and services promise to improve the lives of adolescent girls. Spring Accelerator conducted external research in our communities to find out what healthcare services our patients would look for from a one-stop shop. Through this, we learned that women were not only looking to access general physicians, but as many healthcare services as is possible under one roof. So, for example, our community clinics now also offer access to ultrasound specialists on designated days.

We also learned that mental health is a very important problem faced by people in Pakistan, whether we’re talking about low-income communities or high-income communities. While the problems are the same in those communities, the way they are manifested can be very different and through these various design techniques we have been able to constantly evolve our services to better suit the users.

AR: How has Sehat Kahani responded to the Covid-19 crisis in Pakistan?

SSK: When Covid-19 happened, we were scared that as we don’t have a very robust healthcare system, it is very difficult for a country like ours to cope with this additional stress. When hospitals were brimming with Covid-19 patients, what would happen to patients who wouldn’t be able to get out of their homes? What about the women and children, and the chronic cases who would need help and wouldn’t be able to go to hospital?

Within our company, there was a very interesting scenario where our original base, the telemedicine clinics, had to close down because of the lockdown. We had a young app that had only been on the market for six months and was used by around 15 to 20 patients a day, and we had a corporate-care solution that was being used by six to seven corporates. We thought that either we can be agile and use this opportunity to provide healthcare to a lot of people, or we can sit around and wait for the telemedicine clinics to open again. We chose the first option. We put all our energy into our telemedicine app and went full force in making sure that it would be there whenever a patient needed a consultation with an online doctor. And we started working towards that by creating highly subsidized packages for our corporates and making our retail Sehat Kahani app free for all patients.

October 2020 issue of Wallpaper

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We partnered with the federal government of Pakistan and provincial governments, and we partnered with corporates and NGOs to provide healthcare services to everyone who needed them. We created as much outreach as possible for our services, so that anyone who picked up a phone could contact a doctor using the Sehat Kahani app. And because of this, we went from seeing 12 to 15 patients a day on our app, to 700 or 800 patients a day: one in ten of them were suffering from Covid-19. There was also afirst-time mother who went into labour at 4am, whose husband was in Dubai working. She was all alone at home and didn’t know what to do. A Sehat Kahani doctor helped her get to a tertiary care facility for delivery. We had a 70-year-old man who suffered from cardiac failure in Balochistan, a very remote area of Pakistan with poor healthcare access. We were able to diagnose from his symptoms that he was going through cardiac failure. We had several mental health issues coming up on our app because of the lockdown and the economic crisis, and we were able to help those patients. I think this changed the course for Pakistan in terms of digital healthcare and for Sehat Kahani as a company.

AR: How did you restructure Sehat Kahani, and hire more doctors, to manage such a significant expansion in so short a period of time?

IKA: We already had a network of 1,500 physicians. The idea is that they become part of our bigger network where they engage in training and health education, so it has been a matter of mobilising the doctors from that pool whenever we needed them. As Sara explained, when we started doing so many more consultations, we had to mobilise up to 200 additional doctors to work on the app. At one point, we had somewhere around 300 to 350 doctors working on it. They were ready to serve and trained for the core protocols. That’s how we were able to adapt so quickly.

Whenever a doctor becomes a part of the Sehat Kahani network, they go through extensive training, which not only involves telemedicine, but how they can meet patients’ needs using software. They were all trained for Covid protocols, which evolve as government protocols change. We were constantly upgrading those protocols, and all the primary healthcare issues we could foresee through the mobile app. For example, we have had instances where suicidal patients have ended up calling general physicians and not mental health experts, so the general physicians also need to be trained to recognise that those cases need to be referred to specialists.

AR: What impact will your experience of Covid-19 have on Sehat Kahani going forward?

SSK: Covid has taught us a lot of things. Technology adoption in the country was extremely poor, or not at the standard we would have expected. We thought it would take another three to four years for people to really believe in the power of technology, and in the power of telemedicine. But Covid has made people in Pakistan understand its value. Our conversations with corporate partners, governments and stakeholders about telemedicine being the future of healthcare have become really easy. Corporates are subscribing every day. The fact that the federal and provincial governments partnered with a start-up to provide telemedicine services shows that even the government realises the value of digital healthcare.

When we talk about the future of healthcare in a country where the resources are so limited and the healthcare infrastructure is broken, telemedicine can play a very important role. Public healthcare is structured in Pakistan, much like in the UK. The patient goes to a basic healthcare unit, from there to a secondary health unit and then to a tertiary unit. What if we change all the basic health units into telemedicine units, so that each patient is seen by a virtual telemedicine physician rather than a nurse or a midwife? How many patients could you help in their communities with primary healthcare problems by doing that? This is a conversation that’s very easy to have with the government now, compared to before.

AR: How do you plan to develop the services you offer?

IZA: We’re always looking for new avenues. The idea is that for this year, we want to focus on expanding the mobile app services. Right now, we’re focusing on Pakistan, but we’re looking at scaling them in other countries too. We also see a huge opportunity in creating versions of the same app to be used by various healthcare facilities, by tertiary care hospitals, for example. And there are other areas of healthcare we can delve into.

AR: And how do you plan to take advantage of the new political support for your work and the growing awareness of it?

SSK: We’ll be talking to governments about a proper digital health policy, or for regulation or guidelines for digital health in the country. In order for any service to be legitimate, there has to be a policy or guidelines, which unfortunately are missing in Pakistan at the moment. We’re raising our voices on as many government, federal and provincial platforms as possible about this.

The second thing is that working with the government has given us credibility, so a lot of physicians want to come and work with us to set up virtual clinics using our mobile app.

We are also having conversations with the government about upgrading basic health units into telemedicine units. There are currently 6,000 to 7,000 units in Pakistan that are dormant and without doctors but could be upgraded. Of course, these will have to start as small pilot projects that can be upscaled if they show promise. Right now, one out of three people in Pakistan has access to a doctor. We can change that to two out of three. We also see ourselves as a telemedicine platform that can use Pakistani doctors to help other countries with limited access to healthcare. Bangladesh, for example, but also countries in Africa and Latin America. Our network of doctors and our telemedicine platform can be solutions for them, rather than just for Pakistan.

INFORMATION

A version of this story appeared in the October 2020 issue of Wallpaper*, guest edited by Design Emergency. A free PDF download of the issue is available here.

sehatkahani.com

Among the most heartening stories of design resourcefulness during the pandemic is that of five Afghan girls, aged 14 to 17, who have spent months designing and building emergency ventilators in the city of Herāt. 

All members of the Afghan Dreamers team of young star roboticists, they are working on the ventilators as part of a series of projects organised by the tech entrepreneur, Roya Mahboob, chief executive officer of Afghan Citadel Software, in her philanthropic role as founder of the Digital Citizen Fund, which enables women and girls to learn more about technology to improve their technical literacy and employment prospects. 

Mahboob spoke to Alice Rawsthorn about the Afghan Dreamers’ ventilator design project and her belief in the importance of educating girls in design and technology. 

Alice Rawsthorn: You are involved with a number of design programmes that are seeking solutions to some of the problems posed by the pandemic. Could you tell us about them, starting with the Afghan Dreamers’ emergency ventilator design project? 

Roya Mahboob: At the end of March, Abdul Qayoum Rahimi, then-governor of [the north-western Afghan province of] Herāt, put out a design challenge because there were very few ventilators in the region, which had a large number of cases of coronavirus. He was talking with doctors in Herāt, who were aware that the situation might be out of control. So, they put out a challenge to design open-source emergency ventilators and asked universities, manufacturers and the Afghan Dreamers to participate. Five members of our team responded to the call and started to build the ventilators.

AR: As many of the world’s most powerful and well-capitalised manufacturers have discovered, it is incredibly difficult to design and build emergency ventilators. Not only do the Afghan Dreamers face a tough design challenge, they are tackling it in deeply difficult conditions having begun under lockdown. What extra levels of difficulty has this added?

RM: When the Afghan Dreamers started working on the ventilators, there was a lockdown in Herāt with many restrictions. The shops had closed, and it was a big challenge to find parts as we couldn’t go onto the streets to find them and didn’t know what was available. When you design any product, you need to have an idea of what’s on the market, so you can build it based on the available parts. That was the biggest problem for the team.

And, of course, their families were worried every time the girls left home, about security issues besides Covid-19. At the beginning, we had to fight to persuade them to allow the students to work on the project. We had to bring the girls to the office, but only had one car permit that allowed one car to go around the city. Another challenge was that we didn’t have the facilities to build some of the parts, so we had to go to a workshop 20 minutes outside the city.

And the most important thing is that we didn’t have access to some of the parts that are critical to building open-source ventilators: the medical sensors. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find them in Afghanistan. Indeed, we had to order them. Thank God they arrived. There were all these obstacles, and then of course, funding was another, and then none of us, none of our mentors and coaches, had worked on ventilators or any medical devices in the past. So, it was quite new and very challenging, but the girls were determined to work on this project.

AR: As you mentioned, Herāt has been one of the places in Afghanistan to be worst affected by Covid-19. As infections have continued to rise, what additional pressures have you faced?

RM: It actually encourages the girls to continue to work, when they see the numbers are increasing, especially now that people are treating the disease seriously. Unfortunately, people were careless before and it infected many, including some of the students’ family members, and even our mentors. It’s the worst part of the work, but it also makes the students more determined to continue.

But then, of course, you need to have the cooperation of the governor, you need to have the cooperation of the hospitals and doctors. And right now, the situation is that you can’t find doctors, because they are very busy with patients and they don’t have enough time to come and test the device. Of course, we appreciate their time and understanding, but the situation seems to be out of control.

Obviously, we have to be careful because this is a medical device and it should be tested thoroughly before being used. It could reduce the load of existing ventilators to help people who are in respiratory difficulty but not in critical condition. It is an automated add-on solution to a pre-existing bag; we call it the bag-valve-mask. It could be used in an emergency situation when a physician is present.

AR: What is the current status of the project? As I understand it, there is political support for it within Afghanistan and a determination that it will proceed.

RM: At the beginning, the former governor of Herāt was very excited because it was his plan. Then when he left office, we didn’t have that much support from the new governor, or even from the hospital, because the girls don’t have medical engineering degrees.

However, we have assembled a team of engineers who support us and fortunately, two weeks ago our president, Ashraf Ghani, mentioned in a cabinet meeting that he wanted the minister of health to look at our device and to support us. That meant a lot for us. We are very happy about that, and with the first devices, we have built. They have some functionality, which is good, and now we are working on the second prototype. We did a test ten days ago in a hospital in Herāt, which the doctors are very happy with. Next, we need to work on a second version, which is to make the ventilators clinically available in hospitals; we were waiting to receive the pressure sensors for this.

AR: What lessons have you learned from this? Clearly this is a remarkable project conducted under truly extraordinary circumstances that we hope will never be repeated, but what do you feel has gone well, and what do you feel you would tackle differently, should you approach anything like this again?

RM: We’ve learned a lot. One thing is that we have to think very fast and we have to make decisions fast. Another is to look at what’s really available in the market and which resources we have access to. The first two months were very, very diffcult for our teams, but we connected with so many people around the world. We learned how to ask for help, and that people are willing to help no matter where they are. And that even if they are not in Afghanistan, they are ready to support us.

Also, I think that if there is no pandemic, we will be a little more conservative when we next choose our projects, to make sure that our team and our resources will be available, and that we have enough support from the government and the community. The first month was very difficult because the governor changed, and the local hospital didn’t support us. But right now, people are happy with what the girls are doing. It has taken a long time, and some people are still sceptical, which I understand, but the government is supportive and, at least, allows the teams to work and to test the ventilators. So, I think that this process has been educational for us.

But it is also a great opportunity for us to show, as responsible citizens, what we can do for our community. I’m really very proud of these girls. They are very young, the youngest is 14 years old and the oldest is 17 years old. But they had the courage to do this. They said: ‘This is what we can do. This is our ability. Now we have to help our doctors and our nurses, and we have to help our government and our community.’ That’s how they started.

When we didn’t have motors, and I told them that we didn’t have enough resources, they said they were going to look for them in local markets and to find the gears from motorcycles. It has been interesting to see how they can find parts and put them together. They did the research to build one type of ventilator, then had more time to research and got inspired by a design from a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), so they changed their design, and now they’re working on a new one.

AR: It’s an incredibly inspiring story. Many people have been touched by their dedication and courage. But you began a couple of other Covid-19 design projects as well. Could you tell us about them?

RM: We are working on a couple of other projects. One is an experiment with using UV-C light, which kills infection. Right now, another group of Afghan Dreamers is building two devices: a scanner and a robot that can be used in hospitals. 

AR: You have had a phenomenal career in tech and design. What motivated you to found the Digital Citizen Fund, and to try to help other women and girls in Afghanistan to become tech literate and to pursue careers in technology design? 

RM: I started with one dream and one goal. The dream was to make technology accessible for everyone. And the goal was to give access to technology and education to every woman, regardless of their social status and especially in Afghanistan.

Technology changed everything for me, professionally and personally, ever since I was 16 when I was introduced to this magic box. I think it is a powerful tool for women, especially in a conservative country. We have helped 15,000 girls to date, by educating them between the ages of 12 and 18. They learn how to work with computers, to build websites and games. They also learn about financial literacy, how to manage money, and how to start up on their own as entrepreneurs. Last year, more than a hundred of them started their own small businesses, which we’re very proud of.

Then, of course, we have official teams like the Afghan Dreamers, who are working on robotics, and another team of girls who are building games.

AR: Could you tell us about your plan to open an Afghan Dreamers Institute in Kabul to boost STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) teaching in Afghanistan? 

RM: We are working on building Afghanistan’s first school of science, technology, engineering and medicine focusing on AI robotics, blockchain and cybersecurity. Fortunately, the Afghan government has given us a piece of land at Kabul University for the institute. We are trying to offer world-class education to Afghan students, focusing on women’s access to resources in the STEM  field.

We seek to develop a foundation for lifelong learning and to promote economic development. And we believe this could be resolved by scientifically informed citizens and a creative, solution- seeking population that is trying to bring positive change. And, hopefully, the Afghan Dreamers will be Afghanistan’s future scientists, entrepreneurs and mathematicians. We’ll start fundraising for the institute after this pandemic.

AR: How has your experience of the pandemic, and of the design responses to Covid-19 you’ve championed, affected your ambitions for the Digital Citizen Fund?

RM: Before this crisis, we were organising a big conference, the Brite Initiative, to build resilience in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. The idea was to showcase Afghan girls’ talent in technology, entrepreneurship and art using robotics or anything else, and to write a declaration that policymakers and donors should invest some part of their money in future jobs.

That was our mission and opportunity, but because of Covid-19 everything has been postponed – until next year, hopefully. I think that after the pandemic, people will understand the need for STEM education, and its power for Afghanistan.

The girls who are working on the ventilators are all under 18. Because they have experience and have had access to knowledge and education, they feel like responsible citizens working for society. This might send a big message to the government, governors and policymakers that they have to pay attention to the younger generation in Afghanistan. More than 27 million Afghans are under 25 and it is our government’s responsibility to pay attention to their education, because we all rely on this young generation for Afghanistan’s future.

AR: The Afghan Dreamers are demonstrating this with great aplomb. It is clear that the areas you’re focusing on – AI, robotics, blockchain and so on – will have huge growth in the future, but why do you believe they will be particularly important to Afghanistan? Is it related to Afghanistan’s cultural or artisanal traditions, for example?

RM: I’m Afghan, I grew up in this society, I feel responsible for my community and I’ve seen how powerful technology has been for many others. We have done a lot of projects here in Afghanistan, like Afghan Dreamers, that have had a huge impact.

But Afghan Dreamers won’t only be in Afghanistan, we believe that it should be implemented in other developing countries, whose younger generations need it. The idea of the Brite Initiative was to invite policymakers from the region to discuss this. I feel that in order to compete and prosper in the 21st century, more countries should be able to access the groundbreaking technologies that are transforming our world, but unfortunately, that’s not the case today. There is a huge gap between the richest and poorest countries and huge gaps within those countries that increase every day.

I started in Afghanistan because I have connections and resources here, and many years of experience of working in the tech sector. But we are already working in Mexico, trying to start the Mexican Dreamers Innovation Lab, and we’re making sure that we will be able to help dreamers in Pakistan, Palestine, Iran and other countries in this region, Africa and South America too. 

INFORMATION

A version of this story appeared in the October 2020 issue of Wallpaper*, guest edited by Design Emergency. A free PDF download of the issue is available here.

digitalcitizenfund.org

One image defines Covid-19 more than any other. It is, of course, the ‘spiky blob’, which was designed in late January by Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins, two medical illustrators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, as a visualisation of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Eckert, who has worked on a succession of important health information, education and emergency response projects (including cholera and Ebola) since joining the CDC in 2006, spoke to Alice Rawsthorn about what undoubtedly is the world’s most famous medical illustration.

Alice Rawsthorn: How did you come to be involved with the project?

AE: The day after the CDC opened its Emergency Operations Center for Covid-19 on 20 January 2020, Dan and I were asked to create an identity for the virus. Maybe you can think of it as a mugshot, something that represents what this enemy is.

AR: What was your brief?

AE: Because of our experience in the past, they left a lot of it up to us, but they requested something up close, with a bit of drama, something bold that was going to catch the public’s attention. It’s a public health emergency alert essentially. We were trying to make something that was going to draw people in and bring them back to the CDC website to learn more about the evolving situation. Not many people knew about Covid-19 at the time.

AR: Can you deconstruct the end result for us and describe how the design process and its outcome fulfil those objectives?

AE: We wanted it to be really bold and attractive. First of all, we wouldn’t have wanted it to be too playful. People just wouldn’t take it seriously if we did that, right? We needed something that felt serious. So, we played upon the realism a little bit, using it to help people understand that this thing actually exists. That was my main goal, to make it pop out of the page. A little bit of drama and dramatic lighting to play with the emotions. That’s what I had in my head as I was designing.

AR: How do its aesthetic qualities, such as the textures and colours, contribute to its impact?

AE: I was thinking about making a velvety texture on the proteins, and something that looked like you could touch it and feel it. And I also wanted it to be solid, a bit rocky, something found in nature. Because if you relate it to something that exists, it’s going to be more believable. The colours relate to the public health warning aspect, and the dramatic lighting, of course, the stark shadows.

AR: What was the process and which tools did you use?

AE: It’s a long process of different steps. First, we have a Q&A with the scientists and then we get our data together, what we need to input, what proteins to include. Then we go to the Protein Data Bank, which is a repository of data on proteins and their coordinates, uploaded by scientists. We download that information into visualisation software and get a 3D rendering of our proteins. We extract that data and optimise it down to what we can pull into our 3D programme. So, we start with Chimera, the visualisation software, then there’s an optimising programme, ZBrush, and then our 3D programme, 3DS Max. That’s where I put the whole thing together: build the pieces, add the lighting and texturing, and the camerawork. After that, we use Adobe After Effects to do final polishing touches.

AR: How does the approval process work?

AE: Once we’re done, there’s what’s called a quality control or quality assurance check at CDC that goes through the design department and scientific clearance, at the same time. With this project we didn’t have to do many edits, so it went pretty smoothly. Dan and I worked on the project for a week, and then there were two to three days of clearance before it was released on 31 January 2020. That’s not normal. It was very fast paced, because this is an emergency response. An element of your work that fascinates me is the scope for self-expression.

AR: Medical illustration is led by scientific accuracy, but to what degree can you refine the image to fulfil your brief of raising the alarm about a potential pandemic, and the damage it could cause?

AE: When you are creating educational materials like this, it’s important to distil down the information by taking out unnecessary stuff to focus people’s attention on what really matters. For example, with the building of the virus, we really focused on the big red S proteins, the ones that make the coronavirus so contagious by attaching it to human cells. They give it the crown structure and its signature look and feel.

AR: S stands for ‘spike’, doesn’t it? As I understand it, you sort of overplayed them.

AE: Yes, and I downplayed the M proteins, the little orange bits. Technically the Ms are the most numerous proteins on the structure, but I tried doing that just to see, and it was too overwhelming and lost the focus. So, I downplayed the Ms, and focused on the S proteins, because they’re what really matters. The proteins are still accurate, but we’re focusing people’s attention differently.

AR: You and Dan have worked together on many important projects at the CDC, including Ebola. How did you divide your roles and responsibilities in this one?

AE: Before doing medical illustration, Dan was a graphic designer, and my background was more in science and painting. We bring that into our roles when we’re working together. Dan did more of the layout work for the banners and things that came into play after we’d built the virus, and I focused on taking it into the 3D programme and bringing it to life. Also, Dan was the one who went to the Protein Data Bank, pulled down all the proteins and gave them to me. That’s where our roles divided, but then we came back together and worked on choosing the colours. While we were doing this, the graphic designers at CDC were building the branding for the response. We needed to match that, so we pulled from their colour palette. There were so many colours to choose from that we worked together on which would work best. I tried some of the blues and greens, but they didn’t work well. That’s why we focused on the reds and oranges, which gave it a lot more feeling and emotion.

AR: Did you expect the image to have such a huge impact?

AE: No, we always look at our work as an educational opportunity. Sometimes we see our stuff here and there in the news, but this one just kind of exploded. It’s been amazing to see how powerful a medical illustration can be, and how it has inspired people. It has been wonderful to watch it evolve.

AR: It is very rare that an image becomes so ubiquitous at such speed. Do you think it was partly because, above and beyond the quality of your and Dan’s work, the illustration was all we had to tell us at the time about Covid-19, this creeping terror, this terrible threat. Scientists and medical researchers didn’t understand it. The name, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, is incomprehensible to non-scientists like me. All we knew about it for sure was the dearth of knowledge, an unpronounceable name, blind terror and then this incredible visualisation.

AE: It gave a face to the unknown. That’s how I think of it, because it gave people something substantial that they could hold on to and comprehend. It was so important to have something that people could see and recognise. There wasn’t anything else out there at the time, which is why it was important to do it early and to race to get it done.

AR: How long did it take?

AE: About a week, which is pretty crazy. But that’s why the two of us were working together. We’ve worked together a long time, so we had a lot in place to draw upon to streamline the process and get it done quickly.

AR: There have been so many interpretations of the spiky blob. Do you have any favourites?

AE: A friend of mine gave me one she’d knitted the other day. That’s one of my favourites. And then the cupcakes. Have you seen the cupcakes out there? And the piñatas were really cool, but, honestly, I’m waiting for the Halloween costumes.

AR: Has any other medical illustration ever been so ubiquitous?

AE: No, although there are some renowned illustrators and images out there. There was an Ebola image some years ago from Visual Science that I really like. It’s a really beautiful piece. But in Covid-19 we’ve come across something that we haven’t had to deal with in a hundred years, and scientific imaging and the science itself have evolved a lot in that time. We have a unique situation, which is why we’ve seen this sort of explode.

AR: How did you become involved with medical illustration, which for most of us is a highly specialised, esoteric field?

AE: It’s definitely something that requires a very specific type of person, because it takes in both science and art. Not everybody has both of those going on. I didn’t know about it until I was in my fourth year of college as a biology major working at a veterinary hospital and planning on going to veterinary school. I’d taken art classes on the side as electives since middle school and I was always drawing. But I’d never intended on doing it professionally, until I found out about medical illustration. Someone was like: ‘You need to look into this.’ In a nearby school, the University of Georgia, they had a programme for scientific illustration, one of the only ones in the country. So, I changed my major in the fourth year of school and moved an hour and a half away, then went to grad school and ended up at the CDC.

AR: Which of the past projects you’ve done at the CDC informed your work on this one?

AE: We’d just come off a year-long project that helped the most, an antibiotic resistance threats report that came out in November last year. It uses a lot of the design principles we pulled into this. That project was about showing off the most deadly bacteria in the same way with beauty shots. These bacteria are a little bit different than viruses in the way they’re structured. They’re a little more simplistic, so we focused more on their behaviours with one another, rather than on the up-close front structure. But the design principles were the same. I created a theme in my head as something I could use to bring them to life. I knew that I wanted the concept to be beautiful and eye-catching, in the same way as the Covid piece. I thought about it as being ‘beautiful but deadly’, because these bacteria are dangerous, and I wanted to get that across, but I wanted it to be attractive too. So, I went to Pinterest and created a page that worked as a mood board and started gathering pictures of underwater jellyfish and other brightly coloured creatures to use as inspiration. I find that using something that exists in nature, and sort of emulating it, is the best way to get a piece that looks real and believable. We didn’t have time to do that with Covid, because there was only a week, right? We had almost a year for the other set of 20-something images. Anyway, I kept that idea in the back of my mind about nature and bringing things to life. It was perfect timing, having just come off that project and starting this one, with everything fresh in my head. It helped with building up the aesthetics.

AR: What are you working on now? More Covid-19 illustrations?

AE: I’ve got a queue full of Covid images right now. I’m working on symptoms, tracking and that kind of stuff. Since I’ve been working at CDC, I’ve also been working on illustrating birth defects – that’s best done by hand, not 3D for the most part. But the priority right now is anything Covid-related.

AR: What lessons have you learned as a medical illustrator from this project, that will feed into your work in the future?

AE: We’ve been perfecting a lot of visualisation and communication techniques, by building things for the mass media, that will work on broadcast or on news websites, and making things work quickly. When you’re scrolling on Facebook, you need to be able to catch somebody’s attention within one to three seconds, so the images need to be striking, colourful and bold, to capture your audience. That’s mostly been my take-home from the things I’ve worked on recently.

AR: What were the most challenging aspects of the project for you?

AE: Just getting in there, getting dirty and figuring out what was going to work best colour-wise. We had to try a lot of different versions to get it right. It wasn’t instant. There’s always a lot of trial and error. Building is the easy part, it is what it is, but the communication part determines whether or not it’s going to work. We’ve got to get all those colours to work correctly, and to work cohesively with the textures, the lighting and everything else. When you have lots of experience, you can do some of that work intuitively, but some of it really has to be thought about.

AR: What are the main challenges for medical illustration?

AE: We’re working hard at being recognised. A lot of people don’t know what medical illustration is and why it’s important. There’s a whole network of medical illustrators out there working night and day on the Covid response and sharing materials to help each other out. Everybody’s hard at work.

INFORMATION

A version of this story appeared in the October 2020 issue of Wallpaper*, guest edited by Design Emergency. A free PDF download of the issue is available here.

cdc.gov

Uniting action, art and science, Cure3 was founded in 2017 as an art fund raising exhibition for the Cure Parkinson’s Foundation, curated by Art Wise and supported by Bonham’s. To date, the initiative has raised over £850,000, with all profits going directly to vital curative research for Parkinson’s.

This September, the third iteration of Cure3’s art fund raiser takes place. Over 90 artists and fashion designers are taking part. The brief? To design and create a custom art work inside a clear Perspex cube measuring 20cm square.

Fashion designers involved in the project include Anderson & Sheppard, Charlie Casely-Hayford, Giles Deacon, Monika Dugar, Holly Fulton on behalf of the Emergency Designer Network, Molly Goddard, Roksanda Ilinčić, Teatum Jones, Edeline Lee, Simone Rocha and Sadie Williams.

The unique and highly collectible works will be available to view at the Cure3 website, and bonhams.com, as well as showcased in an exhibition at Bonhams, London from September 5 – 8 2020. The works are available to purchase from 8am on 8 September exclusively from cure3.co.uk and the artworks will be sold at a fixed price (not auctioned) from £500 to over £40,000. Many works are currently digitally on view, with more works being added to the sites each week. You will also be able to catch a glimpse of the cubes at a specially designed window display at Fenwick department store in London. Prices will be released from mid-August.

In addition, enhancing this year's fashion focus, Cure3 has partnered with heritage brand Richard Allan London on a special edition silk scarf, based on a 1960s design. Profits from which will go directly to the Cure Parkinson’s Trust.

‘The challenge for me was working what I wanted to say, and what I wanted to put in there so it had a direct link to my own creative process as a fashion designer, and to create a sense of wonder. I’ve always found that sense of wonder in cabinets of curiosities and collection in the Natural History Museum of all sorts of ephemera,' says Giles Deacon who based his work on a scorpion. ‘Normally my approach is quite maximalist,' says Holly Fulton, of her black and white illustrated box; ‘This has been in an interesting exercise in editing.'

There are an estimated 10 million people living with Parkinson’s Disease worldwide. In the UK, 1 in 500 will be diagnosed with the degenerative disease, that is currently without cure.

In line with Anni Albers long-held belief that art should be an absorbing source of diversion, The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation has partnered with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial Health Charity to create the interiors for a children’s hospital in London.

For Josef and Anni Albers – lifelong artistic adventurers, and pioneers of 20th century modernism – art and ethos intertwine. For them, the timeless qualities of art and rhythmic calming of pattern allow us to endure some of life's greatest challenges. Their foundation, set up by Josef in 1971, aims to further this vision, both in terms of aesthetic remembrance and practical assistance.

This unique project combines state-of-the-art clinical equipment with artworks donated by the Albers Foundation, including, among other works, important wall murals and prints from Josef Albers’ ‘Homage to the Square’ series – a progression that occupied the artist for 25 years of his career. It also sees Anni’s therapeutically iterative designs reflected in bespoke bed screens and wallpaper. Implemented in partnership with the interior graphic design team at Sable&Hawkes, yellow is prominent throughout, echoing Josef’s belief that yellow was the colour of healing. A warm and welcoming environment greets all.

The children’s intensive care unit at St Mary’s Hospital provides care for children with life-threatening conditions and those who have experienced acute trauma. It currently treats over 400 children annually. Since 2016, it has been undergoing a £10 million refurbishment (of which this project is a part), extending the number of intensive care beds from eight to 15, enabling staff to treat an extra 200 children a year.

The partnership with the Albers Foundation started when director Nicholas Fox Weber, (whose grandson Wilder Fox Smith was born at St Mary’s in 2014), learned of the hospital’s extension project. ‘With energy and heart, the people at St Mary’s have realised the wonderful transformation of the children’s intensive care unit to an unprecedented degree,’ he explains. ‘My hope is that it will become the benchmark of what can be done worldwide wherever there are children – and the people who love them – in need.’

INFORMATION

albersfoundation.org

Anna Bonny’s delicate, single-cup bras – or mastectomy patches – are quite unlike any lingerie you will have seen before. The Barcelona-based brand was founded in 2016 by Noelia Morales after her diagnosis of breast cancer and subsequent unilateral mastectomy. ‘I knew from the beginning of my diagnosis that the process of reconstruction was not for me,' she explains. ‘I knew I would find a way of coming to terms with my body in its new form.'

Dissatisfied with the undergarments and swimwear marketed to women who had lost a breast due to life-saving surgery, Morales decided to take matters into her own hands. ‘Breast cancer brings you into an aesthetic world that is not contemporary, not fashionable, and is all about "pretending" you have something when you don’t'. Her experimentations began with the purchase of a brand new La Perla bra. ‘I cut it in two,' says Morales, matter-of-factly. ‘When I put it on, my healthy boob was on the outside, naked, and I covered the ‘mess' with the bra’s beautiful silk.' The designer found herself liking what she saw in the mirror for the first time in months. 

Taking further inspiration from Helmut Newton’s 1983 portrait of Paloma Picasso wearing a monocle, plus some extensive research on Anne Bonny (a 17th century female pirate), Anna Bonny was born. ‘When I was going through my cancer, I didn't identify with all the metaphors that surround the illness – things like, "survivors" and "warriors",' says Morales. ‘To explain to my little boy and my family what was happening, I would use the metaphor of ‘adventure’. Anne Bonny was an adventurer. But I simply reimagined her with one boob instead of one eye.'

Due to the sensitivity of the scar tissue where a breast has been removed, Anna Bonny only uses the finest materials, including pure British silk, organic cotton, and Loro Piana cashmere. Shades such as ‘pearl’, ‘blush’ and ‘midnight blue’, provide an air of elegance. ‘I thought if I'm going to make a breast patch, it's going to be the haute couture of breast patches,' laughs Morales. In April, Anna Bonny was awarded the Swarovski Grand Prix at Hyères Festival, and Morales is currently realising her couturier ambitions through working on a new collection in Chanel’s ateliers, which is set to be unveiled at Hyères 2020. ‘In the short time we've been going, I've got an overwhelmingly positive response,' she concludes. ‘It’s beautiful for a project like Anna Bonny to get recognition like that.' 

INFORMATION

annabonny.com

‘It’s no secret, nobody likes to visit the dentist,’ Maxim Scherbakov, founder of Moscow-based multidisciplinary studio Supaform remarks. Its latest project places you calmly into the surgeon’s chair with a newly refurbished Dental Clinic that evades the standard practice of detached, surgical white and instead employees a plethora of colours that relieve the waiting room nerves.

To add, Supaform once again has created furniture with its trademark aesthetic; emerald green brushes up against terracotta velvet within the reception. Maxim describes how the velvet sofa was intentionally formed as adjoining the desk ‘so the patient is already involved in the process’. Unadulterated green table lamps and coffee tables used in the space add to this detailed consideration of the client journey within the Clinic by the studio.

The use of colour creates a charming climate which the visitor experience’s through every stage of their visit to the Clinic and therefore is inclined to remain calm. Upon entering the surgery room, you are invigorated by the use of green and baby pink which re-imagines the accepted norm of white healthcare environments.

These ‘major contrasts make the interior more disposing to the patient’ Maxim concludes.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Supaform website

Analogue influences pair with futuristic technologies in Studio Aisslinger's new Apotheke pharmacy at the Schultheiss Quartier in Berlin, Germany.

The design team – comprising Werner Aisslinger, Laura Dervishi, Monika Losos, and Julia Walk – is accutely aware that, in the age of social media, every interior is a canvas for DIY photography – even your local pharmacy. Berlin-based Studio Aisslinger is becoming renowned for its ability to create photogenic spaces, like its ‘designer food court’, which opened earlier this year. Likewise at Apotheke, the team was keen to imbue the space with a sense of character – from every angle – for client Heike Zweydinger, who is head of the premium pharmacy (and ‘luckily a design fan’, says Aisslinger), known for exploring progressive retail architecture models for his stores.

A midcentury-inspired palette of muted browns, greens and creams wrap the space in a warm nostalgia, and, says the designer, instills an ‘aura of trust' necessary for a place where medical advice, and medicines, are dispensed. Meanwhile, glass brick walls offer a rare and ‘translucid' look between the drug store and the laboratory behind it, enhancing the transparency necessary between pharmacist and customer.

A high tech touch, the drug store is an automated one, which is becoming increasingly common in newly-designed pharmacies. Centrally placed, a speedy robot arm moves up and down the shelves picking and delivering medicines with efficiency and precision (though, of course, everything is double checked by a human pharmacist prior to sale).

Of this balance between new and old, human with machine, Studio Aisslinger explains: ‘We create spaces that don’t deny the opportunities of digitalisation, and yet secure the possibility of true sociability through their analogue, haptic and visual quality; spaces of unpretentious co-existence with the most advanced technologies.’

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Studio Aisslinger website

Living in Mordi, one of Melbourne’s most laid-back seafront suburbs, has just got even more zen for local yogis. Studio Warrior One has opened its second shala (after Brighton, Melbourne) offering a wide range of yoga classes and training sessions.

Design practice Golden used the studio’s nearest neighbour, the ocean, as inspiration to achieve a real Vedic environment, suitable for both the rigorous as well as meditative aspects of yoga. One practice room is inspired by Indra's royal masculine energy of the Heavens, and the other is inspired by Durga, the feminine protective, who nourishes creative force. Both choices achieve a balance of contrasts between the physical world and the dream one, through textural exploration.

On entering the studio, expectations are quickly undone with soft sisal fabric covering the ceiling, and a dark polished concrete floor contrasting the bleached, puristic form of the bespoke reception desk by Melbourne stonemason and artist Den Holm. Materials get even more varied with fluted-glass sliding doors diffusing the daylight into the studios, architectural hardwood beams creating a rhythmic ‘sky’, and hand-textured walls. In the bathrooms, luxurious pink marble is paired with the rawness of brushed bronze and earthy warmth of wood, whereas in the changing rooms walnut veneer creates a uniform surface to house personal belongings.

There are custom-made day beds and a choice of features like tensile fabric lights, plants, and the odd detail like a wooden surfboard to encourage post-practice daydreaming; so you float away on an ocean of calm.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Studio Warrior One website

The National Health Service (NHS), one of Britain’s most cherished institutions, celebrates its 70th anniversary on the 5 July. To commemorate seven decades of universal healthcare – free at the point of delivery and irrespective of wealth – the Imperial Health Charity has tapped seven artists for a limited-edition print sale, with the proceeds benefiting some of the busiest hospitals in London.

The distinct styles of the prints echo the diversity of modern Britain and the NHS, include Peter Blake’s vivid colour blocking and bold typography, Mona Hatoum’s blue and white skeletal take on bed springs, rendered in a calming palette of blue and white, and Chris Orr’s quasi-monochromatic vision of a dynamic London, where nature and industry, exist hand in hand. Other contributing talents include Jeremy Deller, Tom Hammick, Mona Hatoum, David Mach, and Elizabeth Magill.

The Imperial Health Charity, which supports London’s Charing Cross, Hammersmith, Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea, St Mary’s, and Western Eye hospitals, seeks to unite the patients and staff through the medium of art, with a 2,000-strong collection of artworks that foster a friendly environment for patients, often in midst of daunting medical experiences. It also provides vital funding for medical equipment and research into clinical innovation. Over the past nine years it has raised an astounding £34 million.

David Mach RA, who is a member of the Imperial Health Charity’s art committee says, ‘The way we look after each other in this truly national institution is something we can be rightly proud of in the UK. We can be proud too of art and how it plays a vital role in healthcare.’

Purdy Hicks Gallery in London’s South Kensington will host a reception for the debut of these prints on 4 July, where the prints will first go on sale. The prints, produced by Worton Hall Studios will also be available on CCA Galleries’ website.

INFORMATION

The prints available to purchase online through CCA Galleries. For more information, visit the Imperial Health Charity website

Design’s darling du jour Sara Ricciardi has titilated the industry with a collection of feathery ‘Body Brushes’. The ethereal range of her so-called ‘tools of pleasure’ were born from a desire to create design-minded tools that gently caress the skin and invigorate the nervous system.

Designed for ‘weary epidermis’, the brass-based feather dusters (for want of a better word) stimulate the skin – and conversation. Naturally dyed powder-pink, wood-orange, and dappled Ostrich feathers sprout from geometric holders, splaying winglike.

The effect on the skin – and the mantle piece – is predictably seductive. Intended for self-use, Ricciardi hopes the brushes present ‘a new gesture to caress ourselves’.

Ricciardi’s other recent projects include sculpture for a design couple’s timber loft home; floral installations for Turin’s celebrated art fair, Operae; and a brand-bolstering, typically playful installation at Salone del Mobile 2018. The designer and art director is making waves internationally, thanks to her lighthearted point of view that skillfully (and maturely) sidesteps gimmick. We’re looking forward to big things – and hopefully more feathers.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Sara Ricciardi’s website

Ovie – a Chicago-based tech start-up – has come up with a hassle-free and innovative solution to the pressing environmental issues surrounding food waste, with its new product range of tech-savvy Smarterware. Launching on Kickstarter, the smart kitchen system consists of connected tags that clip onto your ingredients, alongside smart containers, that tell you when your produce is at its freshest.

The Smaterware Smart Tags are a tech toy that kitchen gadget fans will eat up. The micro-devices have a slick light ring, making it easy for anyone to understand the freshness of their food better. When it shines green, you know that your produce is fresh; yellow means that it should be eaten soon, and red indicates that it should probably be thrown out. The simple and recognisable categorisation helps the consumer decide what to eat and when to eat it.

The idea is that the new food storage system will help to keep domestic waste under control while saving you money on groceries, and encouraging you to eat more freshly cooked food – smarter consumption means smarter conservation.

So far so simple. Another integrated level of Ovie’s connected functionality is that the system will send a reminder to your smartphone when the food is about to go-off, via Alexa butler bot compatibility. Extra incentive for budding tech chefs, the Smart Tags monitor what ingredients you have in the fridge and auto-scour the Internet for appropriate recipes. You’ll even have the option of ordering missing ingredients through the included groceries app.

Whether this is just another case of the ‘internet of things’ turning into the ‘internet of everything’ remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure – Ovie gives you all the elements of a smart fridge, but for a fraction of the price.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Ovie website

Capitalising on World Cup fever, Benjamin Hubert of LAYER studio has made his first foray into football technology, with the world’s first piece of consumer elite fitness tracking wearable tech. Designed in collaboration with Catapult (global leader in professional performance analytics), the PLAYR system comprises a smart pod, a high performance vest, and an app, bringing a world-class tracking product to a global audience of aspiring football players, for the first time.

It works much like a FitBit, albeit a highly detailed and connected one. The pod (inserted into the vest, which is worn underneath or over a football jersey) communicates with GPS networks and the PLAYR app to track the athlete during training or a game, monitoring distance covered, sprint distance, pitch heat map, and player load. Innovatively, PLAYR has been designed to integrate into both training and match situations, offering real-time statistics to the players and their coaches, who can advise from the sidelines.

Design-wise, the smart pod is simple and unobtrusive. LEDs communicate the signal strength, battery life, and charging, through the vest, which is woven from advanced high performance textiles. When illuminated, these LEDs reveal a pattern in the reverse of the top surface of the pod to communicate the technological, high-performance nature of the system.

Flashing lights and remote charging gizmos aside, will it actually work? History dictates that it will. The Catapult story began in Australia, when the country’s Olympic team returned from the 1976 Montreal Games without a single gold medal. To avoid repeating this performance, the Australian government created a world-leading academy for the country’s best young athletes. It was here that the founders of Catapult began to measure all facets of performance in an effort to improve sport through evidence based science. They soon developed wearable sensors, and the technology was developed for Australian athletes competing at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Australia won more medals than ever before – a total of 58.

It was LAYER’s job to translate this elite experience and message into a widely accessible product, so they were also commissioned to rethink Catapult’s visual identity, and they took a holistic approach. Hubert and his team focussed on simplifying how Catapult communicates complex information. The logo mark features the same softly angular forms as the PLAYR system to create a unified high performance design language in tune with the mindset of Catapult’s audience.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Layer website

Download the app
The new app-controlled grooming devices use Wi-Fi and near-field communication to transmit useful data to your phone, from real-time correction of habits (posture, breathing, sun exposure) to diagnostic information (body fat percentage, oral health status, hair moisture levels), visualised in user-friendly ways.

When a prototype for the world’s first smart hairbrush launched in 2017, it seemed like a new era of tech-driven, diagnostic grooming was dawning. The hairbrush is still in development, but it promises to become a battery-fuelled detangler using an inbuilt microphone to collect data about split ends and frizziness, conductivity sensors to assess how dry hair is, and technology to measure brushing force. Health and beauty devices designed to diagnose without human intervention is an evolving area, but we are looking forward to integrating the first wearable UV sensor, an app-supported toothbrush by Dentii, posture trackers and smart scales into our lives.

Toothbrush, By Dentii

An app-supported, dentist-designed toothbrush that tracks brushing habits, as well as teeth and gum health. From £80, by Dentii.

Smart scale, by Fitbit

Fitbit’s update of its ‘Aria’ smart scale offers an app-controlled way to track weight, body fat, BMI and lean mass. $130, by Fitbit.

UV sensor, by Fuseproject, for La Roche-Posay

The first battery-free wearable UV sensor is a tiny monitor that talks to a smartphone. Launching 2019, by Fuseproject, for La Roche-Posay.

Posture tracker, by Prana

Prana’s posture tracker, which is still in development, attaches to a waistband and assists the correction of breathing and posture in real time.

Hairbrush, by Nokia Health

This smart hairbrush, launches by Withings, now in the hands of Nokia Health and still in development, monitors hair health.

As originally featured in the June 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*231)

The gap between spa and medical tourism is closing. Filling it are destinations that have all the somnolent soundscapes and blond wood features we expect from spa destinations, but with the added promise of a medically backed reboot. Instead of simply offering detox programmes, they are now using state-of-the-art methods to analyse body and mind to create tailor-made preventative programmes.

This coincides with a growing interest in solo, transformative travel. Using the most up-to-date diagnostics – including DNA analysis, professional sports methods such as NeuroCom testing, and counselling – establishments such as Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence in Switzerland, the design-driven Lanserhof Tegernsee in Germany and Portugal’s picturesque Vilalara Longevity Thalassa & Medical Spa are making the medical makeover desirable.

In parallel, the medically grounded emotional boot camp (or ‘break-up break’) is a growing category, offered, for example, at Thailand’s Kamalaya.

Read part one of ‘Next stop’, where we ask: ‘Are smart homes making us stupid?’

Read part two of ‘Next stop’ on the uprising of autonomous door-to-door travel

As originally featured in the June 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*231)

On top of the deluge of technology launches at Salone del Mobile this year, April has been showered in beautifully designed, functional gadgets. Here’s some of our favourites.

Master & Dynamic cables

Master & Dynamic has long touted the timeless nature of its headphones, from their high-end leathers to their durable metals. It must have balked, then, when Apple and Google changed the game by allowing the headphone jack to drift into technology’s overfilled attic, (alongside cassettes, Walkmans and catch-up TV), forcing emphasis onto wireless Bluetooth headphones, and rendering your favourite M&Ds incompatible. With the launch of the brand’s new Digital Accessories branch, M&D is going the extra mile to ensure that its original offerings live far into the future.

The Lightning to 3.5mm Audio Cable consists of a 1.2 m cord with a 3.5mm plug on one end and a Lightning connector on the other. These cables can replace the standard 3.5mm to 3.5mm cables included with the headphones, allowing them to be used without requiring a separate headphone jack to Lightning adapter. As well as solving a genuinely frustrating problem, the cables look better than most too, encased in heavy-duty woven fabric.

‘As the technology around us changes, we’re working to ensure that the Master & Dynamic products you know and love can be a part of your everyday life for decades to come,’ explains Master & Dynamic’s founder and CEO Jonathan Levine. The argument? Yes, you’re paying a premium for that Master & Dynamic branding and design, but you're also paying for the longevity that comes with it. We’re sold.

IKEA speakers

Ikea made its first foray into the smart home in 2015 with smart chargers, expanding its repertoire with smart lighting last year. Now its edged into audio with its first Bluetooth speakers: large, minimalist boxes that slot neatly into existing Ikea shelving systems.

The Eneby 20 and 30 embody the benefits (and pitfalls) associated with the Swedish furniture giant. They’re not the speakers for sound enthusiasts (and aren’t priced as such) but they are a functional and understated option. Under an industrially-edged handle, a single white dial controls sound, and connecting to Bluetooth is equally as Ikea-simple, though you can always connect to an audio source using a headphone jack, too. As the smart home takes off, the simplicity – and modesty – of these speakers is refreshing. They’ve got all the connectivity and mod-cons you need (for now), with zero fuss.

For those looking for something a little more sophisticated, the Eneby launch follows last year’s announcement that IKEA would be launching a collaborative collection with Sonos in 2019 as part of its Home Smart initiative, which will no doubt see the furniture stalwart upping the complexity and abilities of its smart audio offerings; helping to solidify Ikea’s transformation into a committed smart home force.

Fitbit Versa

This month, Fitbit launched its latest fitness tracker, the Versa; pitching it as ‘the smartwatch for all’. Design-wise, on first impression, little has changed from the already fit-for-purpose Ionic (released last year). Only when you pick it up do you realise where advancements have been made. Certainly the lightest metal smartwatch currently available in the US market, it comes close to being the lightest ever made.

It offers a comfortable design (thanks to a feather-light, anodised aluminum case, that is slightly tapered and angled in its design to fit small or large wrists) and a simplified new dashboard, for easier access to your health and fitness data. Heart rate tracking, onscreen workouts, and automatic sleep monitoring meet smart features like quick replies on Android, wallet-free payments on Fitbit Versa Special Edition, and on-device music – all with 4+ days battery life. It’s a powerful thing for something that weighs, and feels on the wrist, like little more than a bangle.

Nokia Sleep

New (but largely unsurprising) research from Nokia has found that lack of sleep is linked to an increased likelihood of being overweight, being less active and being more likely to have hypertension. Never fear: the hardware veteran has made its first foray into sleep tech (yes, that’s a thing now). Nokia is becoming quite the leader in the connected health revolution, having already launched smart thermometers, weighing scales and other such gadget geekery.

The Wi-Fi enabled sleep sensor, which you place under your mattress, tracks your sleep cycles, heart rate and can even detect snoring, providing you with detailed insights into sleep patterns, all while you’re dreaming away.

Dyson Air Cool

Continuing the trend for easy data access, Dyson has launched its first air purifier with an LCD screen, to let you know what pollutants are flying round – and settling – in your home.

It’s a lot of information on a tiny screen. But, as a species, aren’t we getting used to reading these miniature LCD offerings? And one suspects it isn’t something you would monitor daily, but instead take a cursory glance at every once in a while – perhaps after a particularly heavy traffic jam outside your city-centre studio.

‘How was it possible that Antwerp, this bustling city with its fashion reputation, diamond trade, and so much more, only had these typical-looking, run-of-the-mill gyms?’ asks Tiffany Stevens when recalling the frustration her husband David Box and she experienced as personal trainers in the Flemish city.

The couple started a personal training studio in Antwerp’s Zurenborg area, then founded M4teria, a high-end personal gym in the same neighbourhood. Clients there egged them on to open another gym concept, just 6 months after M4teria was up and running.

That concept became The Brick, a contemporary fitness space located in Antwerp’s hip South area. ‘We accidentally heard these premises were vacant through a friend, and immediately fell in love’, says Stevens. ‘It used to be a warehouse at first, then an office and stockroom for a Belgian menswear brand.’

Many of the building’s original bones were preserved: floors were stripped to reveal the weathered layer underneath, concrete pillars were kept, brick walls exposed. From the street level entrance, steel stairs lead up to the reception and sitting area, behind which a partition partly hides strength training and cardio equipment from view. Another steel staircase leads to the second floor level, where a glass partition divides a mirrored area for group lessons and an additional area for strength training. Another partition there is decorated with a playful Studio Job pattern.

‘For the concept for the interior, we didn’t work with interior designers’, explains Stevens of Box and hers’ curation of the furnishings, which were mostly sourced at RR Interiors in Knokke and IKEA.

‘We wanted to keep the character of the building intact, first of all’, she continues. ‘Secondly, we wanted to give a warm, welcoming feel to every part of the space that is not directly linked to the gym itself.’

As a result, the sitting area radiates a homely loft atmosphere, with mustard yellow, velvet sofas and green Gubi Beetle chairs. ‘We chose a beautiful sculpted oak wood table to welcome our guests, which is intentionally lower than the counters you would usually find in gyms – we were aiming for an open aesthetic more often found in boutique hotels.’

The minimal, concrete changing rooms and sauna boast rainshowers, Vola taps and hair and skincare products by Marie Stella Maris. ‘It’s a complete experience, unique in Belgium’, says Stevens. ‘We don’t want our clients to say ‘I’m going to the gym’, but, ‘I’m going to The Brick.’

INFORMATION 

For more information, visit The Brick Gym website

ADDRESS 

Waalsekaai 57, 2000 Antwerp
Belgium

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Anatomē – the new health, wellness and fitness brand – has opened its first shop in London. Inspired by early 20th-century German physician and illustrator Fritz Kahn (the man who made infographics before they were a thing) it looks to a new era of wellbeing. Behind this new concept is ‘visionary entrepreneur’ Brendan Murdock, founder of branding agency Verdant London and creator of Murdock London.

Anatomē’s motto is straightforward: ‘nutritional and emotional balance is the pathway to a healthy lifestyle’. Through advice carefully depicted on its anatomic drawings, this is exactly what Anatomē delivers. Murdock worked closely with creative agency Studio 91 Design and a team of nutritional experts to formulate a branding strategy, alongside a full range of organic health products. Highlights include a collection of specially curated essential oil blends, created in collaboration with perfume curator Anastasia Brozler, that focus on pairs of wellbeing buzzwords, like ‘energy + strength’, ‘balance + stability’, ‘focus + concentration’, ‘expression + confidence’, ‘recovery + sleep’.

The brand’s new shop, in the heart of Shoreditch, is a small refuge to recharge from London’s hectic lifestyle. Browse the apothecary bar, while enjoying your Anatomē bespoke teas, cold pressed juices, protein shakes, Monmouth coffee, or alkaline Antioxidant water.

Warm, earthly colours and materials (wood, brick, tiles, potted plants) speak to the brand’s finely crafted attention to detail, while the large windows and skylight bathe the interior in natural light. Alongside the Anatomē range the shop offers a carefully selected choice of sport clothing, luxury fitness equipment, accessories and books, while in-house nutritionist Winder Ton is on hand to offer personalised, professional advice.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Anatomē website

ADDRESS

46 Charlotte Rd
London, EC2A 3PD

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Good design, we all agree, should be sustainable. But how exactly are designers creating products, environments and services that are ecologically sound while economically viable? And how, in an industry often characterised by the embrace of the new, do we eliminate waste?

These were the questions tackled by three speakers at the Brainstorm Design conference in Singapore on Thursday 8 March – designer Beatrix Ong, artist Daan Roosegaarde, and design consultant and curator Jane Withers. They were joined by the conference’s co-chair, Wallpaper* New York editor Pei-Ru Keh.

Ong, a former creative director at Jimmy Choo, left her career in luxury goods to start an eponymous label that produces shoes from upcycled rubber, leather offcuts, charcoal and bamboo. ‘Sustainability is a big topic, which can put people off,’ she said, but she believes that we can start small. Whether in footwear decisions, choosing cups and saucers over disposable beverage containers, or eliminating single-use plastic, ‘we need to individually do our part.’

In contrast to Ong’s product-based approach, Roosegaarde’s work has mainly taken the form of large-scale installations, among them a fluorescent bike path that glows like Van Gogh’s night skies, giant kites that can supply up to 200 households with green energy, and ‘the world’s largest vacuum cleaner’ to suck up air pollution in public spaces. ‘My designs use principles from nature,’ he said. ‘The wind and the sun have all been there for a long time, so why don’t we leverage them to create something new?’ Designers helped engineer present environmental problems, Roosegaarde added. ‘Let’s engineer our way out of it.’

Withers, a passionate advocate for the sustainable use of Earth’s most critical resource, water, has collaborated with the likes of London department store Selfridges, Danish textiles giant Kvadrat, and Brooklyn design hub A/D/O on experiments and educational initiatives. ‘I imagine alternative futures,’ she told delegates, ‘ways to use water more responsibly and imaginatively.’

The speakers agree that sustainability doesn’t have to be about doing less. ‘That’s the wrong way of thinking,’ said Roosegaarde. ‘We should do more. Instead of flying less, design a better airplane; instead of drinking less bottled water, switch to sustainably produced bottles.’

Withers noted that the plastic PET bottle arrived in 1973 and has been ‘cheap, functional, though massively dangerous. Changing that takes something equally strong, with the power of marketing behind it.’ She pointed to a recently developed, red algae alternative by designer Ari Jóns, which keeps its form when full decomposes as soon as the water is gone.

Sustainable technology already exists, added Ong, ‘but you have to make a conscientious decision to jump over’ ostensible hurdles of cost and convenience.

The Brainstorm Design conference is jointly organised by Fortune, TIME and Wallpaper*, bringing together more than 300 top speakers and delegates from 33 countries. See more here

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Brainstorm Design website

ADDRESS

Mandarin Oriental Singapore
5 Raffles Avenue
039797, Marina Square
Singapore

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A new gym on the block has opened in Shoreditch. The second instalment of the Clapton-based ‘award-winning fitness meets art, design and fashion’ boutique BLOK, founded by Reema Stanbury, Ed Stanbury and fashion photographer Max Oppenheim, is located on the corner of Norman Foster’s Principal Place. It’s part of a larger redevelopment plan to bridge the City and Shoreditch, that will also house Amazon’s new headquarters.

BLOK Shoreditch is designed by Daytrip Studio (Iwan Halstead and Emily Potter) and lighting design studio There’s Light. The latter have made the whole space feel like one, long corridor animated by light, colour and reflections, which mingle with the smell of coffee and Malin & Goetz bespoke products, alongside photography by Oppenheim and installations by Ben Cullen Williams.

The complex also features a café bathed in natural light and a small shop. Beyond, an industrial floating staircase leads you up to the studios. The designers have used a combination of materials (concrete, glass, steal, wood and fabric) to create contrasts between hard and soft surfaces, light and shadow; illustrating the divide between the hectic London urban environment and the relaxing energy of the practice rooms.

Apart from great coffee, the café offers a menu of smoothies, protein boosters and a choice of nutrient-dense, plant-based grab-and-go pots, curated by Essence Cuisine.

The studios offer a wide range of classes, including a variety of yoga styles and pilates, to boxing and signature workouts (like BLOKFIT, BLOKFLEX, BLOCKORE) deisgned to ‘push you to your limits’. We tried Lila’s Power Yoga and the teacher carefully choreographed an intense, flowing sequence with clear instructions and experienced, insightful adjustments.

Friendly, lively and fun, the BLOK brothers have built a strong and unique brand, aiming to promote the social, artistic and cultural aspects of east London’s fitness scene.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the BLOK website

ADDRESS

2 Hearn Street
London, EC2A 3BR

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Pictured, bag, £2,920, by Brunello Cucinelli. ‘Asana’ posture stimulating objects, prototypes, by Mirjam De bruijn. Bottle, $99, by Quartz. Revive cooling cheek tint, £14, by Arrow, from Birchbox. Flash bath no-rinse body cleanser, $22; shower sheets body wipes, 12 for $15, both by Yuni. Oxygenating Foundation, £55, by Oxygenetix, from Face the Future. Pep-start purifying mask, £24, by Clinique. Clean slate workout wipes, 25 for £27, by Mio. ‘She’ towel; ‘It’ towel, both £15 each, by Hay, from Amara

Picking up on the growing popularity of athletic leisurewear, a new cosmetic category has emerged, consolidating and enlarging the active beauty treatments with high-performance, lightweight, heat-reactive cosmetics designed to suit those with a penchant for physical exercise.
 
FRÉ Skincare

Fitness-focused brand FRÉ offers a package of moisturiser, cleanser and serum, which, when used in sequence, results in a bright, glowing complexion by tackling the usual culprits of sweat-induced skin damage: breakouts, dehydration and ageing.
 
Oxygenetix

Oxygenetix’s range of breathable face foundations, meanwhile, creates a healing, nourishing ‘second skin’, keeping skin supple and camouflaged throughout the most strenuous of activities.
 
Yuni

And US brand Yuni covers post-workout washing issues with its paraben- and sulfate-free shower sheets. These large, individually-wrapped, waterless body wipes instantly eradicate sweat and smell, allowing you to easily freshen up and deodorise on the go.

This growing attention to our gym face means we no longer need to choose between our dermis and our deltoids.

As originally featured in the Janaury 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*226)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the FRÉ Skincare, Oxygenetix and Yuni Beauty websites

There isn’t a catch-all response to the question posed by the Wellcome Collection’s new exhibition, ‘Can Graphic Design Save Your Life?’ The answer, as curator Lucienne Roberts has discovered after several years of sifting through the archives, is contradictory to say the least. As co-founder, with Rebecca Wright, of GraphicDesign&, a publishing house that explores graphic design’s social role, Roberts has long been interested in ‘demonstrating the value’ of the discipline. ‘There are very few subjects that are as essential as health,’ she says. ‘We knew the pharmaceutical industry was a really rich area to explore. It lends itself to quite a minimal, abstract approach.’

Drawing on Wellcome’s own massive collection, as well as loans from companies and individuals, Roberts worked with Jason Holley and Satoshi Isono of Universal Design Studio to shape the exhibition. ‘We looked at it as a graphic space,’ says Holley, ‘using composition, architecture, colour and iconography.’ From the (freshly fashionable) hospital pastel colour scheme to a sprinkling of supergraphics and a clutch of totemic forms (cigarette, cross, warning triangle and question mark), the stage is set for hundreds of items that chart our relationship with the desires, demands and dictates of buying, selling and applying healthcare.

The exhibition begins with the cross, crescent and crystal, the three symbols of the International Red Cross movement. ‘These are powerful emblems,’ says Roberts, ‘so it’s a good way of introducing graphic design to a non-graphic audience.’ The juxtaposition with Raymond Loewy’s Lucky Strike cigarette packaging is stark; the show’s ‘Persuasion’ section lays bare the creative battles that still rage between pro- and anti-smoking lobbies. The undeniable bursts of creativity and visual allure of the former (think Saatchi & Saatchi’s Silk Cut) have given health campaigners an unenviable uphill task. Ironically, in recent years designers have also explored the simplicity and discipline of ‘unbranded’ cigarette packaging.

Universal Design Studio’s model for the exhibition, with graphic symbols as sets for themed sections

1. Education: modernism deployed to inform consumers and promote health 
2. Hospitalisation: the art and design of treatment and recuperation 
3. Medication: the role of design in building brands and selling drugs 
4. Contagion: a warning triangle to explore safety and security 
5. Provocation: design with a conscience, aiming to reshape attitudes 
6. Persuasion: a cigarette shaped display infers the power of design

Drug packaging has long provided artistic inspiration. Bayer, the German chemical multinational, pioneered stamping its logo on the pills themselves at the turn of the century, giving Aspirin, its new miracle drug, a distinct, inimitable style. From the 1920s and 1930s onwards, the psychology of health and healing and the vast amount of new drugs on the market transformed packaging design. The show’s ‘Medication’ section revels in these crisply medicinal corporate identities, annual reports, packets and posters from companies including Bayer, Geigy, Teva and more.

Other key pieces include a classic French pharmacy sign, with its flashing green patterns reprogrammed to display the name of the exhibition, and the ‘Battenberg’ markings from the side of a British ambulance, which form a ghostly imprint of the vehicle on the gallery wall. The signage throughout is set in New Rail Alphabet, the Margaret Calvert-designed typeface that was the default option for the NHS for many years.

Designing for healthcare ticks all the boxes for the socially conscious designer – it seeks to arrest, inform and ultimately change behaviour. Roberts cites Ken Garland’s 1964 ‘First Things First’ manifesto, an influential attempt to create a moral framework for graphic design’s ample powers of persuasion. The show’s ‘Contagion’ and ‘Provocation’ displays demonstrate how vital visual communication is and how impactful health propaganda can be (the 1980s Aids ‘gravestone’ advert, included in the exhibition, is a totemic and ominous item for those who recall it).

The exhibition name is repeated, plastered across the gallery walls. ‘It is a provocative title and we wanted to maximise it,’ Roberts says. As with all the best medical messaging, it lingers in the mind long after the last pill has been popped.

As originally featured in the October 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*223) – on newsstands 15 September

INFORMATION

‘Can Graphic Design Save Your Life?’ is on view until 14 January 2018. For more information, visit the Wellcome Collection website

ADDRESS

Wellcome Collection
183 Euston Road
London NW1 2BE

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In contrast to the often unwelcoming, sterile composition of pharmacies, Molecure Pharmacy in Taichung, Taiwan, has been designed with a modern holistic concept in mind. Designed by local architecture practice Waterfrom Design, the store has become a hub of health for the community and aims to be the leading health expert in Asia.

Because of his experience working in the medical field, Molecure founder Yen Po Liu recognised there was a need for a contemporary change in the way we dispense medicine and promote health. For Liu, ‘The retail environment is not just about sales and numbers – I wanted to try and do something more for society. I wanted to create a space that feels like an art piece.’ The interior design encourages an ambience that endorses a healthy state of mind. By combining aspects of nature and the modernity of technology, Liu does just that.

The open dispensing area known as the ‘green laboratory’ features a large counter, the base made from the trunk of a century-old tree. The walls are decorated with white beach pebbles and lined with floor-to-ceiling metal and lightweight glass modular-systems. Display cases are stocked in abundance with attractive remedial products and antique medicine bottles and a bronzed spiral staircase stands in the centre of the store, cleverly imitating the double-helix structure of a DNA molecule. Even the store’s nomenclature is inspired by nature and science, stemming from the foundation of pharmacology – medications are made from molecules that imitate natural products to cure ailments.

But, at Molecure, the pharmacists aren’t just pharmacists. Not only a shoulder to lean on in time of need, they are skilled baristas offering hand-dripped coffee and a selection of rejuvenating juices too. With calming music and an aroma of coffee floating throughout the store, Molecure creates a relaxing setting for customers and a new pharmaceutical experience. The pharmacy looks to hold community events in the near future, including outdoor yoga and free park runs. ‘Health is not just about medication and supplementation,’ Liu says – it’s a lifestyle.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Molecure Pharmacy website

At long last, it’s not just the well-groomed of west London who have first class facials available on their doorstep. Clerkenwell now has its own day spa with the interiors, tools and know-how to rival Chelsea’s best.

The Well is the latest addition to the multi-platform store Clerkenwell London, established over the past 18 months as a one-stop shop for British craft, interiors, fragrance, jewellery, fashion and (courtesy of its 155 Bar and Kitchen) food. A section of the basement has been decked out as a wellbeing oasis, designed by co-founder Sara Carter and spa guru Rachel Collins, and featuring stocked designers such as textile expert Charlotte Frances, whose custom-commissioned wallpaper and upholstery are dotted around, as well as house-designed manicure stations and a well-appointed wet room. The design will evolve and change as new designers and pieces come to the store.

All of the products used are made from pure botanical ingredients

While the interior aesthetics will make an East Londoner feel at home, there is nothing too crafty or retro about the treatment offerings. They include non-invasive therapies for the face and body, such as tanning, waxing, tinting and manicures; but the signature treatment is the LED facial, which mixes hands-on customised cleansing and massage, using Circ-Cell and CosMedix, two highly researched and thoughtfully sought out American skincare brands, with hi-tech equipment developed off the back of NASA research. The latter, an LED facial machine, emits red light that the body converts into cell energy, increasing new tissue growth and stimulating collagen production. Body treatments, meanwhile, take advantage of the home-grown Bamford range. All in all, The Well represents a happy collision of design, technology and holistic wellbeing.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Clerkenwell London website

Seeking to reimagine the typology of the typical workout space, Melbourne-based interior design firm We Are Huntly has envisioned the serene look for Prahran’s new wellness spot. Sum Of Us is the brainchild of four wellness practitioners who banded together to form a health and fitness hub that encompasses a forward-thinking service within a relaxed environment.

Located on Prahran’s high street within a double-storey Victorian terrace, the space is a thoughtful balance of functionality and aesthetics. Inside, the design extenuates the building’s existing details, honouring and respecting its inherited shell.

Thoughtful details define each area, with the studio’s made-to-measure fittings reflected in a plethora of spaces perfect for a spot of self-refinement, relaxation and reflection. Sum of Us incorporates specially designated areas for pilates, yoga, physiotherapy, myotherapy and podiatry all under one roof, while a café offers up a diverse menu of nourishing dishes.

Aiming to create an atmosphere of sanctuary, We Are Huntly opted for a palette of materials, which would calm its visitors. ‘With the use of light-toned timbers and whitewashed finishes we intended the space to be fresh, honest and approachable,’ explains We Are Huntly director Kylie Dorotic. ‘The essence of the space was to encourage the importance of bringing together a balanced life, mind and body.’

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Sum of Us website and the We Are Huntly website

ADDRESS

602 High Street
Prahran VIC 318

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The world is ageing ungracefully. Our population is the oldest it's ever been, with over 500,000 in the UK aged 90 or older. Half of people over the age of 75 live alone.

A new exhibition at London’s Design Museum demonstrates design’s potential to help us lead healthier, more rewarding lives as we age. Commissions from leading designers (among them Yves Béhar, Konstantin Grcic and PriestmanGoode), offer solutions within the framework of ageing, identity, home, community, working and mobility. This format draws from the 1980s exhibition 'New Design for Old' at the Boilerhouse Project at the V&A, curated by Lady Helen Hamlyn.

In part thanks to this pioneering survey, today's landscape of age-related design is colourful and varied. It's precisely for this reason, Hamlyn believes, that it's time for another exhibition. Writing in the foreword of the 'New Old' catalogue, she says: 'It is important to understand how much has changed in demographic and technological terms in recent decades, and how much will change over the next 30 years.' She invites us to approach the exhibition with an open mind.

This isn't difficult to do, thanks to a thoughtful exhibition identity, typography and layout, created by local design firms LucienneRoberts+ and Plaid London. Roberts ensures all graphic aspects of the exhibition engage with it's content. 'We were briefed to develop a system that was highly accessible, challenged prejudices associated with the show's subject matter and showed the truly positive aspects of later life,' she explains.

The brief shines through the finished result. Delineating wood-framed screens network their way though the space. They're covered with a large, clear typeface, developed specifically for the exhibition. One such wall is plastered with the question, 'When does old age begin?', where visitors are invited to pick a postcard, tick a box and hang their answer on the wall. This low-tech, inclusive interactivity targets people of any age, without patronising or alienating.

This inviting, friendly tone is carried over into the show's optimistic commissions. Refreshingly, they treat the dreams and social lives of older people with just as much importance as their health and mobility. Konstantin Grcic's outdoor 'Head in the Sky' project, for example, provides a mesh structure for 'outdoor working and thinking', that doubles as a safe space to think and enjoy nature for people of an older age. Accessed by a long wheelchair ramp, Grcic explains how the structure 'formally makes a clear reference to an outdated image of old people,' while the open roof 'symbolises departure and a new beginning'.

In his typically visionary style, Grcic's project veers towards the conceptual. Others, like Yves Béhar and Fuseproject's 'ElliQ' design commission, are eagerly practical, and make use of cutting edge technological vernacular. Not dissimilar to an Amazon Echo (recently shortlisted for a Wallpaper* Design Award) or the Google Assistant, 'ElliQ' is an emotionally intelligent robotic companion, that uses speech and light to subtly convey emotion. Thanks to its sensitive, sculptural design, it's not as terrifying as it sounds. It looks more akin to a beautiful table-top object than an AI mastermind. Of its many functions, it acts as a look out for intruders and coaches older people into fulfilling daily goals, as well as performing home AI standards like playing music and accessing the internet hands-free.

Designs like 'ElliQ' and 'Head in the Clouds' serve to emphasise the fact that designing for the elderly doesn't have to be about plaid curtains and comfy chairs (although there's nothing wrong with the latter). Aided by Lucienne Roberts' punchy graphics, the exhibition takes the taboo out of talking about old age, and feels youthful, without being exclusive. It also hasn't come a moment too soon. With over half our children predicted to live to 103, we're living in the century of the centenarian. We must envisage a future that puts the 'grand' back into 'old age', as we all hurtle towards it.

INFORMATION

’New Old’ is on view until 19 February. For more information, visit the Design Museum website

ADDRESS

Design Museum
224–238 Kensington High Street
London W8 6AG

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07:00: Pick an elixir

Whether it’s the cuppa to ease you into the day, the mid-morning refresher, or the afternoon pick-me-up, drinks are being required to do a whole lot more than satisfy a thirst. Today’s quenchers also need to bring nourishing vitamins and minerals to the equation, superior hydrating powers, healthy bacteria, healing enzymes or detoxifying elements. Increasingly, the drinks industry is looking East for new elixirs – the traditional Javan tonic jamu and the Japanese tea mugicha are having a moment – while inventive drinks such as water kefir, from Mexico, and sap water, from north-central Europe, are shaking up spa menus. Scroll down for our very latest hydration destinations.

From our tonic trolley (clockwise from left)

1. Pickle juice
This vinegary brine infused with veg juices and packed with potassium, sodium and magnesium is considered a tonic for muscle cramps, stomach troubles, hangovers and heartburn.

2. Carbon lemonade
Activated charcoal, combined with lemon and a sweetener, makes an exotically black-coloured lemonade. For detox, hangovers and bloating.

3. Sap water
The super-hydrator du jour. Typically tapped from birch trees, it boasts hydrating electrolytes, potassium and phytonutrients, plus saponins, to combat cholesterol, eczema and much more.

4. Pea milk
The latest dairy alternative, the thick creamy liquor comes in a variety of flavours alongside plain. High in proteins, omega 3 and calcium.

5. Mugicha
This barley tea tastes something like liquid toast, but with vitamins and minerals to fight tooth decay, diabetes, cholesterol, even cancer, it’s worth it.

6. Jamu
Anti-cancerous fresh turmeric harnessed in a tasty, daily tonic, also containing, variously, tamarind, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, sulfur cinnamon, pandan leaves and honey to sweeten.

7. Water kefir
Made from fermented grains, and with a soda-like fizz, this potion is said to strengthen the immune system and fight bad bacteria.

08:00: Have an ice day

New, cold or ‘cryo’ therapies are piquing interest for their rejuvenating, feel-good beauty benefits. The shiversome therapy was first used as a full body treatment for pain management and then as a post-sport recovery aid. In beauty, it is used in a targeted way, for example, to break down pockets of fat on the butt, tum, chin and thigh in a treatment called Coolsculpting, and as an alternative to Botox, using liquid nitrogen shots.

One of the latest therapies is 111Cryo, which uses a new nitrogen-free freezing technology. The cold can be controlled, so is said to be more comfortable, especially for facial treatments. Like a light, cold massage, icy air is pumped onto the skin through a nozzle. Blood capillaries constrict, then, once normal temperature returns, blood enriched with nutrients floods to the surface. Skin appears more refined as pores and puffiness are reduced, while collagen production is stimulated.

Not all cryotherapy is high-tech. The new Jalue Ice Therapy cone, for use at home, is a push-up, cone-shaped ice cube, made with herb-infused mineral water, that is smoothed over skin to de-puff, tone and bring a glow. Then there is a new low-tech cryotherapy facial by skincare brand Anne Sémonin, which first promoted ice cubes for the skin a decade ago.

09:00: Jump around

Designed in sustainable, natural materials – ash, marble and hemp – this home workout kit prototype lifts the weight of environmental concern from our shoulders and looks pretty good too. The concept of design student Ali Safa, currently doing his MA at Lund University, Sweden, it is a response to the plethora of plastic and rubber workout products. Comprising an adjustable dumbbell, a core wheel, two push-up barrels and a jump rope, the kit, named ‘Femton’ is intended to be aesthetically pleasing enough to leave out in your home, ‘to keep you motivated’, says Safa. He is investigating production options and hopes to be able to accept pre-orders soon.

10:00: Screen time

The effects of the electromagnetic smog emitted by digital devices have rather crept up on us. Reaching deeper into the skin and eyes than UV rays, high energy visible (HEV) light, or blue light as it’s also known, takes its toll on skin, eyes and sleep patterns. Happily, products to help us are now emerging. The Flight Mode series by Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Theresa Bastek of Plastique includes a visualiser (pictured centre top) that lights up to warn of a rise in electromagnetic radiation, carbon screens (pictured far left) to absorb it, and a blanket and pyjamas made from shielding yarns.

Forward-thinking skincare brands such as Make and Dr Sebagh produce moisturisers that filter HEV light (and others to counter its effects) while eyewear labels such as See Concept and Lindberg offer blue light-filtering lenses, to shield us in style.

Deskbound workout

To combat the effects on the body of sitting at a screen all day, Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Charlotte Therre has come up with ‘Body at Work’, six exercise tools designed to activate and strengthen muscles without interrupting productivity. ‘I looked at moments where workers could take care of themselves to stay healthy in the long term,’ she says. The tools, made in Therre’s South Korean studio, resemble pieces of jewellery or desk ornaments and include a leather collar set (pictured) with brass weights that stimulate blood flow and regulate body temperature, and a pair of metal cylinders that, when rolled underfoot, automatically improve posture.

13:00: Eat to de-stress

The healing potential of herbs and spices is harnessed by various health systems, from Ayurveda to traditional Chinese medicine. Now certain ‘super herbs’, dubbed adaptogens, are considered a naturopathic system in themselves. With the power to help the body adapt to mental and physical stress and moderate it, these super herbs include moringa, ashwagandha, maca, ginseng, holy basil, licorice root, cordyceps mushrooms, rhodiola, rosemary and reishi. Used to battle stress caused by everything from temperature extremes to time pressure, they bring stamina and mental clarity. They are most commonly being swallowed as supplements, used to lace smoothies or to boost skincare. But wouldn’t it be good if they just enriched our every day meals? We make a lunch designed to lighten the load.

20:00: Press pause

When it comes to a mind and body overhaul, little can beat a trip to a spa in a Keralan backwater or a retreat in a Himalayan hideaway. But there are things we can appropriate from the mind-purging and corporal-cleansing traditions of the East to introduce into our own bathrooms. We’ve put together a wellness kit that will bring a bit of Ayurvedic healing to your home, including the essential detox tool, a copper tongue scraper; a Himalayan Salt Soak from new British brand Isla Apothecary; Dafna’s skincare from a Madrid-based follower of Ayurvedic philosophy; a tension-relieving gold facial massage tool; a cleansing tea from the Ministry of Herbs; and an egg timer to measure meditation sessions. Just add time to pause.

As originally featured in the January 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*214). Shot on location at Bavaria Road, North London. House designed by West Architecture. With thanks to the owner, Morgwn Rimel. See more of the architecture here

Hemmed in by a busy highway, apartment buildings and small houses, it’s hard to believe that the steep hillside where the recently rebuilt Aqua Sports & Spa member’s club now sits was once home to a Tokugawa country estate. In days gone by it offered a spectacular view of Mount Fuji, onsen springs and rich forests; now only hinted at by the large pockets of trees that sit to the east and west.

Inspired by the dramatically changing landscape, Los Angeles architect Christopher Coe of Coe Architecture International set out to build a facility that would recreate an ancient sense of calm in the midst of its frenetic present day surroundings. ‘Although a private club, our intent was to create a transparent building with a welcoming and public presence, one with a serene and refined demeanor in sharp contrast to the chaotic surroundings of Tokyo,’ says Coe.

Spanning six storeys and 6,000 sq m, the facility comprises a series of stacked white and grey concrete volumes that follow the line of the hillside. Conceived to conserve natural resources and significantly reduce reliance on outside power generation, the building carefully balances Eastern and Western design sensibilities.

While the cafe and lounge on the third floor are oriented east–west, taking in the tree-top views, the glazed facade of the pool and gym runs north–south, level with the busy highway. ‘The pool is the most singular and “Western” of the building’s spaces with the function and its space being completely interdependent,’ explains Coe of the design. 'However, the introduction of the large windows allows the enclosed space to “leak” or flow freely to the exterior, breaking down the spatial definition of inside and outside, which is more akin to Japanese space. At night the dramatic interior lighting glows through the windows, creating an advertisement for the club more effective than even the most colorful neon signage seen in Tokyo.’

However, it would seem that the club is no need of advertisement. Fitness fanatics tempted by its private 50m swimming pool (the only one of this size in greater Tokyo), its gym, outdoor terrace, spa lounges and Japanese baths fed by onsen springs, will need to sign up to the waiting list – which is currently just over a year long.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Aqua Sports & Spa website

Drawing inspiration from long, cold winters in Sweden spent cooped up indoors comes a new collection of workout gear designed by industrial design student Ali Safa A.

Named 'Femton', the collection strives to alter public perceptions of exercise equipment while aiming to encourage healthy living and raise environmental awareness. The concept for the gear arose from Swedish designer Safa’s contempt for the array of plastic and rubber workout products available on the market today. He thus set out to create an alternative selection of products ‘designed to be a part of a characteristic home, always visible and to keep you motivated’.

Comprised of four apparatuses – an adjustable dumbbell, a core wheel, two push-up barrels and a jump rope – the tools are crafted from ash, marble and hemp. This choice of materiality may more typically be associated with the likes of a kitchen counter catalogue, but it provides the workout tools with a pure and natural material quality not often seen in exercise equipment. It is with this choice of material that Safa has hopes in ‘bringing back traditional values to a modern context’.

'Femton' is not currently available for purchase but Safa has been been in discussions with retailers about the potential for a limited-edition collection in the near future. The 'Femton Workout Kit' will, instead, be exhibited as part of a wider Analogue Ways expo (itself past of the Artisanal Ways offering) during Salone del Mobile, at OED Studio.

With its natural simplicity and pleasing aesthetic, this workout collection has some real weight behind it.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Analogue Ways website

ADDRESS

OED Studio
via Savona, 11
Milan

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Hi-tech sportswear generally makes a number of simple promises, usually concentrating on the during of what you do rather than the before or after. New London-based adventure clothing brand Vollebak takes a more experimental, tangential approach to performance enhancement. Founded by twins Steve and Nick Tidball, former creative directors at TBWA who run ultramarathons in the Namib Desert in their spare time, Vollebak launched late last year after years of tests with two jackets, ‘Baker Miller Pink’ and ‘Condition Black’.

‘The Special forces, space exploration, neuroscience, conceptual art, philosophy and material technology were all influences on product development,’ says Steve Tidball. The Condition Black jacket is designed to take almost any eventuality and keep you alive. For example, an outer surface of super-thin ceramic panels means it can survive a skid up to 120kph on any surface. The Baker Miller Pink Hoodie, with its mesh visor and asymmetrical sling pockets, is designed to ease pre-event tension and promote post-event recovery, or ‘enhance your parasympathetic nervous system,’ says Tidball.

Both come with downloadable soundtracks: the hoodie with a relaxing half hour of pink noise, while the jacket soundtrack is more clamour and cacophony, designed to increase your capacity to deal with pure terror.

INFORMATION

Baker Miller Pink, £220; Condition Black, £750. For more information, visit Vollebak’s website

Photography: Andy Pò

Meditation, everyone knows, happens in the mind, and how we furnish that ’space’ is entirely up to us. But how would that – the physical manifestation of that experience – translate into a physical environment? Architecture duo Oyler Wu has taken on the challenge to create the Headspace Meditation Pods. 

Credited with taking the benefits and practice of meditation to the masses, Headspace has amassed over 5 million active users since launching in 2010. ’We’re continually striving to create the most compelling invitation for people to practice meditation,’ explains the app’s co-founder Rich Pierson of this latest collaboration. ’Part of the challenge is how you make meditation, which is an intangible exercise, tangible? The pods are an innovative way to do this and will hopefully encourage people to reevaluate how they look at meditation.’

Crafted from multiple layers of machine-cut wood set over a steel frame structure, the inspiration for Oyler Wu’s pods – natural geological formations – is clear to see. The sleek, curvilinear seating position invites users to sit comfortably in a soothing environment where an internal screen (hidden from the view of other spectators) allows users access to the entire Headspace library of guided meditations. 

This isn’t the first collaboration for the meditation experts; their ’No Noise’ campaign touched down at London’s Selfridges in 2013 and carries on in the sky with Virgin Atlantic’s inflight Headspace channel. The state-of-the-art pods have been unveiled this week in Los Angeles and have a full global launch slated for later this year. Mindfulness, it seems, is here to spread. 

INFORMATION

For more information on Headspace, visit the website

The Canadian brand Kit and Ace opened its first shop in Vancouver’s design-centric neighborhood of Gastown in the summer of 2014. 39 stores and eight pop-up shops later, the technical cashmere company is disrupting fashion’s current offering of athleisure and carving out a new market category fueled by the creative communities they are joining.

Kit and Ace is the brainchild of JJ and Shannon Wilson. JJ is the son of Chip Wilson, founder of Lululemon. In an attempt to fill the void between yoga clothes and street clothes, the Wilsons created a proprietary fabric that combines technical attributes and luxury fibers. They are designing day-to-night clothing for someone living a ‘full contact life’, someone whose time is precious. This mantra hangs in neon lights in the company’s newly opened Austin shop and is the connective thread between visual aesthetics and how a customer moves through the space.

The brand’s passion for community rings true with this new Austin location, which sees them partnering with local painter Jenny Granberry and photographer Matt Crump. Kit and Ace gives autonomy to each location’s so-called ‘Creative Class’ to create a custom store with each opening. The shop acts as a gallery space and teams up with area lighting designers, photographers, artists and makers, always incorporating iconic local photography and a rotating art wall. The epitome of these hyper-local partnerships comes in the form of a Supper Club table in each store that's used to host monthly invite-only meetings for creatives to indulge in local fare and celebrate good company. 

INFORMATION

Website

ADDRESS

Kit and Ace
608 W Monroe St, Suite D
Austin, Texas

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Green tea stimulates the brain in the same way as yoga. What effect then, we wonder, will Noa have on the brain, given the fact that just one bottle has the equivalent amount of green tea extract that you would get in 15 regular cups of the stuff?

Noa Fridmark, the founder of Noa Relaxation, left a high-powered career to find peace on an island in the Stockholm archipelago. Since then, he claims to have captured the relaxation he experienced there in drinkable liquid form, using the ubiquitous active ingredients of lemon balm and green tea. He backs up his research with scientific studies about the effects of his ingredients, all of which are cited on his website.

Noa's drinks are set to launch at Selfridges this autumn – a UK debut that comes since receiving the award for 'Best Premium Drink' at the World Beverage Innovation Awards in 2014. There are also plans to launch in Ireland very soon.

The industry of natural relaxation drinks has boomed in response to an increasing prominence of caffeinated energy drinks in the market. Noa is designed with calm in mind, in contrast to the more medicinal designs of Dream Water, or the Californian brand Just Chill (which looks like an energy drink itself). A collaboration between Swedish design companies Super Tuesday and No Picnic, the frosted glass design of Noa's bottle makes it more chic than many of its counterparts. This is complemented by delicate illustrations of the key ingredients for each flavour, which comprise Elderflower & Rhubarb and Blueberry & Birch Sap. 

Those of us who aren't lucky enough to enjoy sedentry island living may not have time for the equivalent amount of calming green tea, but no need to stress: one bottle of Noa should do the trick.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Noa

The inventor of an ingenious device for identifying hearing problems in newborns is among this year's winners of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise. Indian designer Neeti Kailas - who, from the start of her career, has applied her knowledge and skills to humanitarian issues - scooped the prize for her Sohum hearing test prototype, which was devised for (and is being tested in) Indian hospitals.

This year's group of five Laureates once again shows the varied scope of the Awards, which honour 'extraordinary individuals who possess the courage and conviction to take on major challenges'. Fellow winners range from Saudi Arabia's Hosam Zowawi - who is developing rapid tests to detect the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria - to Italy's Francesco Sauro, who is researching the vast quartzite caves of South America's fabled tabletop mountains. But it was Kalias who particularly caught our attention for her humble yet innovative approach to design.

'I want to use my design skills to make an impact,' she says. Kailas' goal is to transform healthcare in her native country and her method for research and development is multifaceted. 'Design allows me to approach a problem from multiple perspectives,' she explains. 'It lets me dwell on the diversity.'

Kailas' affordable, battery-operated Sohum device was developed in tandem with her engineer husband. It can be used in noisy environments and avoids problems linked to anesthesia. Winning the Award (which includes a grant of CHF50,000) will allow Kailas to continue trials on her prototype, with the goal of launching it by 2016. 'These are not achievements awards - these are awards to make things happen,' explained Rebecca Irvin, Head of Philanthropy at Rolex, when presenting the Laureates - a mantra closely aligned with Kailas' creative ambitions.
 
Rolex's Awards for Enterprise were launched in 1976, when the Rolex Oyster Chronometer (the first waterproof wristwatch, an important moment in horology) turned 50, and the brand decided to mark this anniversary with a positive initiative that would contribute to the global human heritage. The bi-annual programme gives recognition to projects in the fields of applied technology, cultural heritage, science and health, exploration and the environment. Every alternate edition of the award is dedicated to those under 30 years old: 'The future of the planet is in the hands of the next generation,' Irvin asserts. 'Problems are becoming more and more complex; new creative thinking is needed'.
 
Kailas' work is a strong reflection of this ethos, with even her earliest projects having a humanitarian focus. 'My first ever design project was to redesign a bed-pan,' the designer explains. 'Several projects later, we were constantly making sure that we were in-fact, solving the right problem. This is design to me: finding the right problem to solve.'