RUILI, CHINA – West of China’s Yunnan Province is Ruili, a city that’s neighboured by Burma in three directions. The convergent region is a popular destination for explorers: the Hengduan Mountains are nearby, and the humid subtropical climate makes for lush landscapes. Its geography visually informed Beauty Club on the National Border, a beauty and wellness space by Parallect Design.
The club offers skincare, physical therapy and spa treatments. Wanting to evoke a sense of interior serendipity in the 300-sq-m space, the Suzhou-based designers aimed to re-create the feeling of traversing through the surrounding environs. Doing so, they thought, would not only relax the club’s clientele, but completely enrich their spatial experience.
Parallect Design’s concept centres on the idea of exploring the unexplored. An immersive T-shaped tunnel enables customers to wander through ‘secret’ areas, or, as a spokesperson for the studio explains, to ‘realize transitions between different functional blocks’. This organization reduced the transit area and allowed for a more abundant reception space.
Covered in glossy blue crystal plating, the dream-like tunnel dramatically contrasts with the rest of the white, wood-veneered space. Beyond the gallery, wavelike sculptures are suspended from the ceiling and emerge from the ground, completing the ethereal interior terrain.
https://www.frameweb.com/news/beauty-club-on-the-national-border-parallect-design