Once inside, you are embraced by a soothing combination of warm, mellow lighting and a monochromatic colour palette of beige tones that instantly makes you feel relaxed. Throughout the venue, circular openings that echo the façade’s design are harmoniously juxtaposed with angular shapes imbuing the spaces with a dynamic sense of vitality, as does a series of unique elements that stand out against the otherwise austere, minimalist setting. Case in point, the monumental light installation that dominates the atrium located in the centre of the facility. Clad in soft-to-the-touch Japanese washi paper, the glowing, two-storey-tall, prismatic “lantern” changes from warmer to cooler tones “as if breathing”, inviting people sit or lie down, close their eyes, and fully experience its healing effects.
Other elements that subtly subvert the minimalist aura include a large, moss-covered installation encircled by a minimal product display that invites guests not only to touch the mossy mass but to also smell it, a sculptural reception desk that looks like a rock formation, a curvaceous, three-dimensional mirror accompanied by the sound of flowing water, and a gong-like instrument inspired by Ōryōki, a type of nested bowls used by Buddhist monks as a meditative form of eating.